The bacterial strains isolated from trophic ulcers and their persistence factors

Abstract

Background: Recently, a particular attention has been drawn to the study of the microbial persistence properties and their correlation with the rate of elimination from the source of infection, as well as the prognosis of the disease progression. Material and methods: There were examined 44 samples taken from patients with trophic ulcers. The bacteriological examination, as well as tests on determining both the persistence factors and the antibiotic susceptibility of the isolated strains were carried out according to the current method. Results: There were determined 80 isolated bacterial strains. Two and more strains were isolated in over half of these cases (52.3%). The most commonly involved strains were the genus Staphylococcus, followed by Enterobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Candida spp., and enterococci. Both gram-negative and gram-positive species exhibited a high-level antimicrobial resistance. The study of the persistence factors revealed that the strains isolated in mixed culture showed a higher rate of virulence (1.0-1.5 times higher) compared to isolates in pure culture. Conclusions: The main bacterial strains isolated from trophic ulcers are the genus Staphylococcus and the Enterobacteriaceae family. Isolated strains showed higher level of antimicrobial resistance and multiple persistence factors. The study results proved that treatment of trophic ulcers is still a major problem, requiring rational monitoring and management strategies.