Hu Honghua, Clothier Nicole, Jacombs Anita, Mckay Karen, Deva Anand K, Vickery Karen
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
Materials (Basel). 2022 Mar 14;15(6):2139. doi: 10.3390/ma15062139.
Frequent recurrent lung infections result in irreversible lung damage in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). This study aimed to determine if toothbrushes contain biofilms of pathogens, and act as potential reservoirs for lung re-infection following antibiotic treatment of acute exacerbations. Toothbrushes were collected from children with CF of lung infection before, during and after antibiotic treatment. Toothbrushes were rinsed with sterile saline and cultured. Bacterial isolates from toothbrushes were identified by 16s rRNA gene sequencing and compared with isolates from a sputum sample of the same patient. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to visually confirm the presence of bacterial biofilms and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) combined with Live/Dead stain to confirm bacterial viability. Large numbers of bacteria and biofilms were present on all toothbrushes. SEM confirmed the presence of biofilms and CLSM confirmed bacterial viability on all toothbrushes. Pathogens identified on toothbrushes from children before and during antibiotics treatment were in concordance with the species found in sputum samples. and was able to be cultured from children's toothbrushes despite antibiotic treatment. Toothbrushes were shown to be contaminated with viable pathogens and biofilms before and during antibiotic treatment and could be a potential source of lung re-infections.
频繁反复的肺部感染会导致囊性纤维化（CF）患儿出现不可逆的肺损伤。本研究旨在确定牙刷是否含有病原体生物膜，并在急性加重期抗生素治疗后成为肺部再次感染的潜在储存源。在抗生素治疗前、治疗期间和治疗后，从患有肺部感染的CF患儿中收集牙刷。用无菌盐水冲洗牙刷并进行培养。通过16s rRNA基因测序鉴定牙刷上的细菌分离株，并与同一患者痰液样本中的分离株进行比较。使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）直观确认细菌生物膜的存在，并用共聚焦激光扫描显微镜（CLSM）结合活/死染色法确认细菌的生存能力。所有牙刷上均存在大量细菌和生物膜。SEM证实了生物膜的存在，CLSM证实了所有牙刷上细菌的生存能力。在抗生素治疗前和治疗期间，从患儿牙刷上鉴定出的病原体与痰液样本中发现的菌种一致。尽管进行了抗生素治疗，仍能从儿童牙刷上培养出[具体细菌名称未给出]。研究表明，在抗生素治疗前和治疗期间，牙刷被有生存能力的病原体和生物膜污染，可能是肺部再次感染的潜在来源。
