Study Shows Absorbable Sutures Can Treat Brain Infections
It's a possible alternative to IV antibiotics that are administered for up to eight weeks in the hospital, according to the authors.
A plastic material used in absorbable surgical sutures can administer antibiotics to patients with brain infections, potentially curing them sooner and preventing costly hospital stays, scientists from Taiwan reported recently in a study in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.
The authors of the study, titled "Biodegradable Drug-Eluting Poly[lactic-co-glycol acid] Nanofibers for the Sustainable Delivery of Vancomycin to Brain Tissue: In Vitro and in Vivo Studies," are employed by the Department of Neurosurgery, Shuang Ho Hospital at Taipei Medical University; the Department of Neurosurgery, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University; the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chang Gung University; and the Graduate Institute of Medical Mechatronics, Chang Gung University.
Shih-Jung Liu and colleagues said these life-threatening infections occur in about 5-10 percent of patients who have brain surgery. Treating them involves administering antibiotics intravenously for as much as eight weeks. Liu's team studied a biodegradable plastic called PLGA.