quality:correction, structural:expansion, structural:reformatting
Medical implant infections

Staphylococcus aureus is often found in biofilms formed on medical devices implanted in the body or on human tissue. It is commonly found with another pathogen, Candida albicans, forming multispecies biofilms. The latter is suspected to help S. aureus penetrate human tissue. A higher mortality is linked with multispecies biofilms.

Staphylococcus aureus biofilm is the predominant cause of orthopedic implant-related infections, but is also found on cardiac implants, vascular grafts, various catheters, and cosmetic surgical implants. After implantation, the surface of these devices becomes coated with host proteins, which provide a rich surface for bacterial attachment and biofilm formation. Once the device becomes infected, it must be completely removed, since S. aureus biofilm cannot be destroyed by antibiotic treatments.

Current therapy for S. aureus biofilm-mediated infections involves surgical removal of the infected device followed by antibiotic treatment. Conventional antibiotic treatment alone is not effective in eradicating such infections. An alternative to postsurgical antibiotic treatment is using antibiotic-loaded, dissolvable calcium sulfate beads, which are implanted with the medical device. These beads can release high doses of antibiotics at the desired site to prevent the initial infection.

Novel treatments for S. aureus biofilm involving nano silver particles, bacteriophages, and plant-derived antibiotic agents are being studied. These agents have shown inhibitory effects against S. aureus embedded in biofilms. A class of enzymes have been found to have biofilm matrix-degrading ability, thus may be used as biofilm dispersal agents in combination with antibiotics.