Microbiological Status of Venous Leg Ulcers and Its Predictors: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study

Justyna Cwajda-Białasik, Paulina Mościcka, Arkadiusz Jawień and Maria Teresa Szewczyk
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Justyna Cwajda-Białasik: Department of Perioperative Nursing, Department of Surgical Nursing and Chronic Wound Care, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 85-821 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Paulina Mościcka: Department of Perioperative Nursing, Department of Surgical Nursing and Chronic Wound Care, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 85-821 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Arkadiusz Jawień: Department of Vascular Surgery and Angiology, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Maria Teresa Szewczyk: Department of Perioperative Nursing, Department of Surgical Nursing and Chronic Wound Care, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 85-821 Bydgoszcz, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-10

Abstract: Venous leg ulcers are frequently colonized by microbes. This can be particularly devastating if the ulcer is infected with alert pathogens, i.e., highly virulent microorganisms with well-developed mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. We analyzed the microbiological status of venous leg ulcers and identified the clinicodemographic predictors of culture-positive ulcers, especially in ulcers with colonization by alert pathogens. Methods: This study included 754 patients with chronic venous leg ulcers. Material for microbiological analysis was collected by swabbing only from patients who did not receive any antibiotic treatment. Results: A total of 636 (84.3%) patients presented with culture-positive ulcers. Alert pathogens, primarily Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were detected in 28.6% of the positive cultures. In a logistic regression model, culture-positive ulcers were predicted independently by age > 65 years, current ulcer duration > 12 months, and ulceration area greater than 8.25 cm 2 . Two of these factors, duration of current ulcer > 12 months and ulceration area > 8.25 cm 2 , were also identified as the independent predictors of colonization by alert pathogens. Conclusions: Colonization/infection is particularly likely in older persons with chronic and/or large ulcers. Concomitant atherosclerosis was an independent predictor of culture-negative ulcers.

Keywords: contamination; infection; leg ulcers; microbiology; ulceration; venous insufficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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