Efficacy of Vancomycin, Teicoplanin and Fusidic Acid as Prophylactic Agents in Prevention of Vascular Graft Infection: An Experimental Study in Rat

To compare the efficacy of a single prophylactic dose of intra-peritoneal vancomycin and teicoplanin with anti-biotic treated Dacron grafts (vancomycin, teicoplanin, 10 or 40% fusidic acid-soaked grafts) in preventing vascular graft infections in a rat model. Prospective, randomized, controlled animal study. The graft infections were established in the subcutaneous tissues of 80 female Sprague–Dawley rats by the implantation of Dacron prostheses followed by the topical inoculation with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The study groups were as follows: (1) uncontaminated control group, (2) untreated contaminated group, (3) contaminated group with intra-peritoneal vancomycin, (4) contaminated group with intra-peritoneal teicoplanin, (5) contaminated group received vancomycin-soaked Dacron graft, (6) contaminated group received teicoplanin-soaked Dacron graft, (7) contaminated group received 40% fusidic acid-soaked Dacron graft, and (8) contaminated group received 10% fusidic acid-soaked Dacron graft prophylaxis. The grafts were removed after 7 days and evaluated by a quantitative culture analysis. No infection was detected in controls. The untreated contaminated group had a high bacteria count (6.0×10 4 CFU/cm 2 Dacron graft). Groups that received intra-peritoneal vancomycin or teicoplanin had less bacterial growth (4.8×10 3 and 3.9×10 3 CFU/cm 2 Dacron graft, respectively). Similarly, the group that received 10% fusidic acid-soaked graft showed less bacterial growth (3.6×10 3 CFU/cm 2 Dacron graft). The groups with vancomycin-, teicoplanin- and 40% fusidic acid-soaked grafts showed no evidence of infection. Statistical analyses demonstrated that intra-peritoneal prophylactic antibiotic treatment was less effective in inhibiting bacterial growth than high concentration antimicrobial-soaking of grafts. The use of vancomycin-, teicoplanin- and 40% fusidic acid-soaked grafts was effective in preventing primary prosthetic vascular graft infection.