Bacterial biofilms and chronic osteomyelitis

OBJECTIVE: To overview the effect of bacterial biofilms (BBF) on the formation of chronic osteomyelitis and the treatment measure. METHODS: The original articles in recent years about the relationship between BBF and chronic osteomyelitis were reviewed. RESULTS: The diagnosis and treatment of chronic osteomyelitis was very difficult, besides hyperplasia of local scar, poor blood supply, drug-resistant, forming of BBF also was an important reason. BBF formed on the surface of necrosis soft tissue and dead bone. Due to the protection of BBF, the bacterium were far more resistant to antimicrobial agents, which caused the recurrence of chronic osteomyelitis. The forming of BBF included three processes which were adhesion, development and maturity. As the major pathogens of chronic osteomyelitis, staphylococcus had its own characteristic. Designing therapeutic programmes according to these characteristics had become the trend of anti-infection treatment of BBF. CONCLUSION: Although there are lots of studies on anti-biofilm due to the key factors during the forming of BBF, the most effective way of anti-biofilm is still debridement.