Abstract
Indwelling medical devices are a cornerstone of modern surgical practice, providing effective, cost-effective and often simple solutions for the management of a range of clinical scenarios where support is required for the normal physiology of the body. However, their increasingly widespread use is significantly compromised by their propensity to become colonized by microorganisms, leading to medical device-associated infections, with at least half of all incidences of healthcare-associated infections in the National Health Service (UK) now linked to their use. This chapter reviews the processes leading to such infections and goes on to discuss the development of devices and emerging strategies which prevent microbial colonization, biofilm formation and infection via the coordination, control or triggered release of antimicrobial agents from polymeric systems in response to various infection-associated triggers.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
