Prevention of vascular prosthetic infection with an antibiotic-bonded Dacron graft.

Surfactant-mediated antibiotic bonding was used in an animal model of aortic prosthetic infection. Control grafts, control plus parenteral oxacillin, and oxacillin-bonded Dacron grafts were challenged by local inoculation with Staphylococcus aureus. Ninety percent of controls, 80% of parenteral antibiotic recipients, and only 30% of antibiotic-bonded Dacron grafts became infected (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.03). Antibiotic-bonded grafts were also superior in terms of suture line cultures and patency. In separate experiments in a subcutaneous pouch model, antibiotic bonding significantly improved the median infective dose of Dacron over that of controls and Dacron soaked in cephalosporin. These studies demonstrate that antibiotic-bonded Dacron implants are highly resistant to infection. A multicenter clinical trial is planned.