Microbiology & Immunology Publications
Title
Probiotics and the urologist.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-1994
Journal
Journal of Urology
Volume
152
Issue
3
First Page
865
Last Page
867
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1016/S0022-5347(17)32592-2
Abstract
An examination of transitional bladder epithelial cells from 69 urine specimens from 23 spinal cord injury patients showed the presence of adherent bacterial biofilms in 66 cases (96%). All patients were receiving antimicrobial therapy, primarily trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (41 of 69), without any apparent effect on the bladder colonization. The large number of bacteria that emerged with highly virulent and potentially multi-drug resistant characteristics, especially Enterococcus faecalis (33% of isolates), was of concern. These findings raise questions about the proved efficacy and effectiveness of antibiotics against uropathogenic biofilms adherent to tissues.