Evidence of Bacterial Biofilms among Infected and Hypertrophied Tonsils in Correlation with the Microbiology, Histopathology, and Clinical Symptoms of Tonsillar Diseases
Open Access
- 24 December 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Hindawi Limited in International Journal of Otolaryngology
- Vol. 2013, 1-11
- https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/408238
Abstract
Diseases of the tonsils are becoming more resistant to antibiotics due to the persistence of bacteria through the formation of biofilms. Therefore, understanding the microbiology and pathophysiology of such diseases represent an important step in the management of biofilm-related infections. We have isolated the microorganisms, evaluated their antimicrobial susceptibility, and detected the presence of bacterial biofilms in tonsillar specimens in correlation with the clinical manifestations of tonsillar diseases. Therefore, a total of 140 palatine tonsils were collected from 70 patients undergoing tonsillectomy at University Malaya Medical Centre. The most recovered isolate wasStaphylococcus aureus(39.65%) followed byHaemophilus influenzae(18.53%). There was high susceptibility against all selected antibiotics except for cotrimoxazole. Bacterial biofilms were detected in 60% of patients and a significant percentage of patients demonstrated infection manifestation rather than obstruction. In addition, an association between clinical symptoms like snore, apnea, nasal obstruction, and tonsillar hypertrophy was found to be related to the microbiology of tonsils particularly to the presence of biofilms. In conclusion, evidence of biofilms in tonsils in correlation with the demonstrated clinical symptoms explains the recalcitrant nature of tonsillar diseases and highlights the importance of biofilm’s early detection and prevention towards better therapeutic management of biofilm-related infections.Keywords
This publication has 63 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Microbiology of Tonsils in Khamis Civil Hospital, Saudi ArabiaISRN Otolaryngology, 2012
- Osmotic spreading of Bacillus subtilis biofilms driven by an extracellular matrixProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2012
- Relevance of biofilms in pediatric tonsillar diseaseEuropean Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 2011
- Progress and Challenges in Implementing the Research on ESKAPE PathogensInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2010
- Comparison of methods for the detection of biofilm production in coagulase-negative staphylococciBMC Research Notes, 2010
- Indications for Tonsillectomy and AdenoidectomyThe Laryngoscope, 2009
- Biofilm production, a marker of pathogenic potential of colonizing and commensal staphylococciJournal of Microbiological Methods, 2009
- Microparticle transport in the human intestinal M cell modelJournal of Drug Targeting, 2008
- The biological role of death and lysis in biofilm developmentNature Reviews Microbiology, 2007
- Changes in the Core Tonsillar Bacteriology of Recurrent Tonsillitis: 1977-1993Clinical Infectious Diseases, 1995