| Effectiveness of Pediatric Tracheostomy Tube Cleaning [Original Article] |
| Archives of Otolaryngology February 20, 2012, 12:00 pm |
| Objective To determine the effectiveness of typical reprocessing of pediatric tracheostomy tubes (TTs) with detergent-soaked gauze pads.
Design In vitro microbiologic study.
Setting Department of Otolaryngology, University of Florida, Gainesville.
Participants Polyvinyl chloride and silicone TTs of 3 different manufacturers.
Intervention Thirty TTs were cultured with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus and reprocessed after 4 days. Eighteen additional TTs were exposed to plasma and then cultured with P aeruginosa or S aureus for 7 days.
Main Outcome Measures The presence of biofilms was assessed before and after cleaning by quantitative bacterial counts and scanning electron microscopy.
Results Bacterial counts that were obtained before cleaning of the tubes did not differ among brands. Reprocessing reduced P aeruginosa and S aureus bacterial counts in the 4-day group (P = .003 and P = .004, respectively), but clean TTs had a mean count of 105 colony-forming units/mL. Reprocessing did not significantly reduce S aureus or P aeruginosa bacterial counts in TTs pretreated with plasma and exposed to 7-day culture.
Conclusions P aeruginosa and S aureus biofilms in pediatric TTs are not eradicated by standard cleaning methods. Further research is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings and whether strategies to prevent biofilm formation or more effective disinfection methods would result in improved clinical outcomes. |
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| Incidence of Pediatric Acute Mastoiditis: 1997-2006 [Original Article] |
| Archives of Otolaryngology April 16, 2012, 12:00 pm |
| Objectives To evaluate the incidence of acute mastoiditis in children in the United States over the years 1997 through 2006 and to explore possible explanations for the conflicting conclusions of recent studies of this topic.
Design Comparison of periodic incidence over a decade.
Setting Academic and community, general, and pediatric specialty hospitals |
| Incidence of Pediatric Acute Mastoiditis: 1997-2006 [Original Article] |
| Archives of Otolaryngology April 16, 2012, 12:00 pm |
| Objectives To evaluate the incidence of acute mastoiditis in children in the United States over the years 1997 through 2006 and to explore possible explanations for the conflicting conclusions of recent studies of this topic.
Design Comparison of periodic incidence over a decade.
Setting Academic and community, general, and pediatric specialty hospitals |
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