Microbial Biofilm Infections in Tissue Implant: A Review

In implant and trauma surgery, implant-related infections are a significant problem. Implant-related infections are becoming more common with the increase in implant procedures. Implantation of implants has become a common and life-saving surgery. The number of hip surgeries performed worldwide is one million per year, and the number of knee surgeries exceeds 250000. More than 30% of hospital patients have one or more vascular catheters that need repair. More than 10% of hospital patients have a fixed urinary catheter. Approximately 2 million nosocomial infections cost over $11 billion each year in the United States. One of the most important risk factors is exposure to intrusive medical devices. Current treatment approaches have serious consequences for individuals and often fail to eradicate the disease. The increased likelihood of infections becoming chronic is due to effective bacterial evasion tactics, with biofilm formation being an important factor in bacterial persistence. The presence of foreign material promotes biofilm formation, contributing to the persistence of infection. Therefore, there is great interest in eradicating the disease in the planktonic phase (free-swimming bacteria) before biofilm transformation occurs and avoiding reinfection after antibiotic or surgical therapy. This mini-review reviews the literature on the implant, associated infections, their mechanism, and strategies used to prevent these infections.