Efficacy of treatment with freeze-dried fibrin-antibiotic complex for experimental osteomyelitis in Tats

Abstract

An in vitro and in vivo study was conducted to evaluate a novel tool, freeze-dried fibrin-antibiotic (FDFA) complex, for the treatment of osteomyelitis. The antimicrobial agent used was arbekacin (ABK). The in vitro elution study demonstrated that ABK was released from the FDFA complex into saline at a concentration of 37.9mg/ml on day 1 and the antibiotic was detectable at 0.4βg/ml on day 18. In experiments with rats, staphylococcus aureus (MIC of ABK, 0.2βg/ml) was inoculated into the right tibial medullary cavity along with a piece of absorbable thread. Implantation of the FDFA complex containing ABK 4 weeks after the bacterial challenge reduced the number of bacteria in the infected tibia to an undetectable level in one-third of the rats, a level which was not achieved by implantation of freeze-dried fibrin (FDF) alone or curettage alone. The roentgenographical and histopathological findings in the infected tibia showed that the FDFA complex containing ABK apparently steared the infected tibia to a curative course. These results suggest that implantation of the FDFA complex containing ABK is a promisingalternative treatment for osteomyelitis caused by S. aureus in humans.