Infection, biomaterial centered

Gristina AG. Biomaterial-centered infection microbial adhesion versus tissue integration. Science 1987, 237, 1588-1595. 

Biomaterials are materials foreign to the human body that are used in medicine to replace, support or restore body function. Applications range from central venous and urinary catheters to more complex devices such as prosthetic joints and heart valves. The risk of biomaterial centered infection (BCI) is a key factor limiting their use [1]. The incidence of this type of infections varies for each application for instance 4% for hip prostheses [2] and 10-20% for urinary catheters (see Table 1). In BCI microorganisms are present in close association with the biomaterial surface forming a so-called biofilm. Different species of microorganisms are found in BCI that are often commen-... 

S] Gristina, A. G., "Biomaterial-Centered Infection Microbial Adhesion Versus Tissue Integration," Science, Vol. 237, 1987, pp. 1588-1595. 

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