Bacterial biofilm formation on nasogastric tubes

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We examined the external surfaces of the gastric portion of nasogastric tubes recovered from hospitalized patients. Most of these surfaces were covered with a thick amorphous biofilm which was shown to be largely composed of microbial microcolonies in which individual cells were enclosed in their exopolysaccharide glycocalyces. Bacteria of many different morphotypes and some yeast cells were found in a fibrillar matrix that appeared to mediate their attachment to the silastic tubing. Within these mature biofilms some microcolonies were structurally intact and apparently vigorous, while others were composed largely of dead cells and empty cell walls. We conclude that nasogastric tubes that remain in patients for as short a time as one day are heavily colonized by a rich variety of biofilm‐forming bacteria and yeasts.