Abstract
Bacterial contamination of tissues retrieved from cadaveric donors is a common feature worldwide, and every tissue bank, albeit using different methods, conducts decontamination to guarantee safe tissues suitable for clinical use. The effectiveness of the methods used to eradicate pathogens differs. In order to reduce the tissue bioburden at retrieval, we have introduced a new method involving rinsing tissues in a sodium hypochlorite solution. To test its effectiveness we analyzed two comparable groups of tissues: Group A: 1881 tissues, all rinsed with isotonic saline solution after retrieval, and Group B: 1968 tissues immersed in an isotonic saline solution containing sodium hypochlorite (final concentration 0.1 %) for different lengths of time and subsequently rinsed with isotonic saline. The rinsing solution of each tissue was then sampled for microbiological cultures in both groups. The resultant overall contamination rate was 40.5 % for Group A and 6.7 % for Group B, with an 82.8 % difference in the reduction of contamination between the two groups. This was especially the case for commensal skin bacteria in musculoskeletal tissue, which accounted for over half the overall contamination. Our data highlighted that decontamination with sodium hypochlorite was helpful in reducing the bacterial bioburden in tissues retrieved from cadaveric donors.
Highlights
Bacterial contamination of tissues retrieved from cadaveric donors is a common feature worldwide, and every tissue bank, albeit using different methods, conducts decontamination to guarantee safe tissues suitable for clinical use
E-mail: apaolin@fbtv-treviso.org helpful in reducing the bacterial bioburden in tissues retrieved from cadaveric donors
When coming into contact with organic tissues, hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a substance present in the NaOCl solution, releases chlorine that combines with the protein amino group to form chloramines, which in turn interfere with cell metabolism
Summary
Bacterial contamination of tissues retrieved from cadaveric donors is a common feature worldwide, and every tissue bank, albeit using different methods, conducts decontamination to guarantee safe tissues suitable for clinical use. Despite strict donor selection and tissue retrieval criteria, primary contamination of harvested tissues is frequently found This leads to considerable rejection and expenditure for the microbiological tests needed to identify the pathogens and ascertain the sensitivity of the antibiotic cocktails normally employed for the phase of decontamination. When coming into contact with organic tissues, hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a substance present in the NaOCl solution, releases chlorine that combines with the protein amino group to form chloramines, which in turn interfere with cell metabolism. Their antimicrobial effect is exerted by inhibiting essential bacterial enzymes through irreversible oxidation (Estrela et al.2002). The aim of our study was to verify the efficacy of our protocol of rinsing tissues with a low concentration of NaOCl-containing solution to reduce the bioburden at retrieval
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