Virulence of Bacteria Colonizing Vascular Bundles in Ischemic Lower Limbs.

Background: We documented previously the presence of bacterial flora in vascular bundles, lymphatics, and lymph nodes of ischemic lower limbs amputated because of multifocal atheromatic changes that made them unsuitable for reconstructive surgery and discussed their potential role in tissue destruction. The question arose why bacterial strains inhabiting lower limb skin and considered to be saprophytes become pathogenic once they colonize deep tissues. Bacterial pathogenicity is evoked by activation of multiple virulence factors encoded by groups of genes.

Slime production by Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains isolated from patients with diabetic foot ulcers.

Slime production is a very important factor related to biofilm formation. The objective of the present study was to determine the frequency of slime production by Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains recovered from 50 patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Slime production was determined using the Congo red agar (CRA) method and compared with immunocytochemistry for the production of polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA).

Epidemiology and prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis in patients with diabetic foot ulcers: focus on the differences between species isolated from individuals with ischemic vs. neuropathic foot ulcers.

We examined whether foot ischemia or neuropathy with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) promote selection of staphylococci species, evaluated frequency of MRSA and MRSE among strains yielded from patients with DFU and assessed multidrug resistance of isolates. Patients with DFU and foot osteomyelitis were divided into ischemic foot ulcer (IFU, n=21) and neuropathic foot ulcer (NFU, n=29) groups. Frequency of Staphylococcus epidermidis yielded from curettage of IFU was higher compared with NFU (P<0.