Do we really need to coat the novel silicone intranasal splints with antibiotics? ★★★

PurposeThe novel silicone intranasal splints are suggested to resist biofilm formation due to their surface characteristics. We aimed to ascertain the necessity of coating these splints with antibiotics to prevent splint associated infections, in vitro.Materials and methodsPieces of Doyle II airway nasal splints made of medical grade silicone were divided into two test groups, treated with either (i) 0.2% nitrofurazone solution or (ii) 0.2% nitrofurazone containing ointment, and a control group, treated with (iii) 0.9% saline. Splint pieces were then incubated with Staphylococcus aureus solutions at 37 °C for 48 and 96 h. Following this, the splint pieces were incubated in 20 ml Mueller Hinton agar and appearing colonies were counted.ResultsFollowing 48and 96 h of incubation, the colonization rates in the saline group were significantly higher than the nitrofurazone ointment group (p < 0.001). The colonization rates in the liquid nitrofurazone group were significantly lower in comparison to the nitrofurazone ointment group (p < 0.001 and p = 0.019 respectively).ConclusionsThe method of coating the splints with antibiotic was superior to using uncoated splints in terms of preventing S. aureus colonization. The rather smooth surfaces of the splints were insufficient to block bacterial colonization and coating them with antibiotics seems to be beneficial for the prevention of infections.