Endotracheal tube biofilm in critically ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic : description of an underestimated microbiological compartment.

ABSTRACT: Biofilm (BF) growth is believed to play a major role in the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in the intensive care unit. Despite concerted efforts to understand the potential implication of endotracheal tube (ETT)-BF dispersal, clinically relevant data are lacking to better characterize the impact of its mesostructure and microbiological singularity on the occurrence of VAP. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective observational study during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, between March and May 2021. In total, 64 ETTs collected from 61 patients were included in the present BIOPAVIR study. Confocal microscopy acquisitions revealed two main morphological aspects of ETT-deposited BF: (1) a thin, continuous ribbon-shaped aspect, less likely monobacterial and predo

SUBMITTER: Maldiney T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9794690 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature