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Biomedical subjects

J A Spadaro

Publications and source records attributed to J A Spadaro.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Bacterial inhibition by electrical activation of percutaneous silver implants.

Percutaneous silver wire implants were looped through the dorsal skin of rats and inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus to test the effect on bacteria in the tract. The silver was activated with four brief daily applications of anodic microcurrent. Contralateral 316L stainless steel implants, identically inoculated, served as controls. Cultures from the silver tracts showed a marked reduction or elimination of bacteria, which persisted for the 3-week study period. In tracts with colonization established for 1 week, subsequent electrical activation of the silver also suppressed the bacteria. Inflammatory reactions at 3 weeks were mild at both the silver and stainless implants and no giant cells or toxicity were seen. This suggests that electrically activated silver may be useful in preventing or treating infection at percutaneous devices.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Electrically stimulated bone growth in animals and man. Review of the literature.

The literature on the electrical stimulation of bone growth and fracture healing has been increasing exponentially in recent years. About 95 per cent are positive reports despite an extraordinarily wide selection of experimental techniques and models. Fourteen research groups report that electrical currents stimulated fracture healing with few if any complications in a total of 595 patients. The mechanisms of action and ideal technique for applying stimulation has yet to be determined.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antibacterial and osteoinductive properties of demineralized bone matrix treated with silver.

The problems incurred by storage of demineralized bone allograft material and its potential use in contaminated operative sites make an antibacterial property desirable. Silver was considered for this role because of its wide spectrum of antibacterial susceptibility, low incidence of resistance, and its ability to persistently inhibit bacteria after binding to collagen matrices. Demineralized bone matrix prepared from rat diaphyseal bone segments was treated by exposure fo AgCl, AgNO3 and NaNO3 solutions prior to lyophilization. The resulting material was tested for bacterial inhibition after incubation in saline solutions for various times and showed inhibition persisting for at least four weeks (Ag-treated material only). Silver treating the matrix was found to partially inhibit the osteoinductive capacity at 10(-3) and 10(-2) M but not at 10(-5) M as measured by intramuscular implantation in the rat for six weeks. Control and NaNo3-treated specimens showed normal bone growth as measured by ashing and by 99mTc binding, and confirmed by radiologic densities. Histologic sections showed dense microdeposits on dense material predominately near the decalcified bone surfaces, but also within the matrix. The results suggest that pretreatment with silver at concentrations in the 10(-4) range would render the implant material antibacterial, protect its sterility, and leave the osteoinductive capacity intact.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Silver anode treatment of chronic osteomyelitis.

Twenty-five patients with active, chronic osteomyelitis, resistant to conventional management, were treated with surgical debridement and daily application of electrically activated silver dressings. Sixteen (64%) cases resulted in closed, stable, pain-free wounds, with the remainder resulting in persistent drainage or amputation. Nine of 12 cases complicated by nonunion achieved union. In 13 patients an open-bone graft was performed and silver treatment continued: these tended to remain free of purulent drainage but fared no better than average in the long-term follow-up. The silver anode dressing seems to be an effective aid in the treatment of chronic bone infection when combined with adequate surgical debridement, thereby reducing the need for prolonged systemic antibiotics.

Adult↗