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Two decontamination solutions, commercially produced BASE•128 and laboratory decontamination solution (LDS), with analogous content of antibiotic and antimycotic agents, were compared in their antimicrobial efficiency and stability (pH and osmolarity). Both solutions were compared immediately after thawing aliquots frozen for 1, 3 or 6 months. Agar well diffusion method was used to test their antimicrobial efficiency against five human pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis. The difference in the inhibition of growth between the two decontamination solutions was mostly not statistically significant, with few exceptions. The most pronounced difference between the LDS and BASE•128 was observed in their decontamination efficacy against E. coli and E. faecalis, where the LDS showed to be more efficient than BASE•128. The osmolarity value of LDS decreased with cold-storage, the osmolarity values of the BASE•128 could not be measured as they were below the range of the osmometer. Slight changes were found in pH of the less stable LDS solution, whose pH increased from initial value 7.36 ± 0.07 to 7.72 ± 0.19 after 6 m-storage. We verified that BASE•128 and LDS are similarly efficient in elimination of possible placental bacterial contaminants and may be used for decontamination of various tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular allografts are usually disinfected using antibiotics, but protocols vary significantly between tissue banks. It is likely that different disinfection protocols will not have the same level of efficacy; they may also have varying effects on the structural integrity of the tissue, which could lead to significant differences in terms of clinical outcome in recipients. Ideally, a disinfection protocol should achieve the greatest bioburden reduction with the lowest possible impact on tissue integrity. We conducted a systematic review of methods applied to disinfect cardiovascular tissues. The use of multiple broad spectrum antibiotics in conjunction with an antifungal agent resulted in the greatest reduction in bioburden. Antibiotic incubation periods were limited to less than 24 h, and most protocols incubated tissues at 4 °C, however one study demonstrated a greater reduction of microbial load at 37 °C. None of the reviewed studies looked at the impact of these disinfection protocols on the risk of infection or any other clinical outcome in recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Storage preparation of human heart valves for implants generally includes incubation in an antimicrobial disinfection solution and cryopreservation. Changes in patterns of microorganisms susceptibility to antibiotics is a variable process of that promote its inefficiency. The aim of this study has been an evaluation of in vitro susceptibility of high virulence microorganisms isolated in our tissue bank for 14 years in order to evaluate the efficiency, and to promote changes for further antibiotics mixtures as well. Data presented in this study show that microorganisms isolates in valve banking display susceptibility patterns similar to those shown in other clinical circumstances, and the most commonly used antibiotics regimes are useful to date. An antibiotic cocktail containing aminoglicoside in addition to ciprofloxacin and vancomycin is an efficient mixture to be used in valve banking. Further studies will be necessary for monitoring patterns changes of in vitro susceptibility of microbiological isolates in tissue banking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Antibiotics are routinely used for the decontamination of allograft heart valves. To monitor the efficacy of this process, samples of tissue are sent for microbiological analysis. This investigation was undertaken to determine residual antibiotic concentrations in decontaminated tissue and to assess the likely inhibitory effect on microbiological cultures. After a typical decontamination protocol, both gentamicin and vancomycin were present in all tissue samples and the majority of enrichment broths at concentrations sufficient to inhibit most bacteria. The data presented indicate that protocols used by heart valve banks and associated microbiology laboratories should be reviewed, and support the use of predecontamination cultures to identify particularly virulent micro-organisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]