TY - JOUR A1 - Bajpai, Trupti A1 - Varma, M A1 - Bhatambare, G A1 - Pandey, M T1 - Escherichia coli biofilms: Accepting the therapeutic challenges Y1 - 2016/10/1 JF - International Journal of Health & Allied Sciences JO - Int J Health Allied Sci SP - 204 EP - 209 VL - 5 IS - 4 UR - https://www.ijhas.in/article.asp?issn=2278-344X;year=2016;volume=5;issue=4;spage=204;epage=209;aulast=Bajpai DO - 10.4103/2278-344X.194081 N2 - Background: Urinary tract infections (UTI's) are a major public health concern globally. Recurrent UTI's that are predominantly caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli's forms biofilm that is an intracellular, structured bacterial community, enclosed in a self-produced matrix, adherent to an inert, or living surface. Biofilm physiology is characterized by increased tolerance to stress, antibiotics, and immunological defenses, which is at the origin of their resilience in most medical and industrial settings. Materials and Methods: The present prospective study was carried out from December 2013 to May 2014 in the Department of Microbiology of a Teaching Tertiary Care hospital located in central India. A total of 100 consecutive, nonrepetitive E. coli isolates were subjected to biofilm formation study by Christensen's tube adherence method. All the isolates were also subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method in accordance with the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute 2013) guidelines. Results and Discussion: Out of the 100 E. coli isolates studied, 62 (62%) were positive for biofilm formation. High percentage of resistance was detected in isolates among the male inpatient group. Overall drug resistance was found to be very high among both biofilm as well as nonbiofilm forming isolates indicating excessive drug resistance among both community and hospital organisms. Conclusion: A greater understanding of the nature of biofilm organisms in chronic UTI's would help in the development of novel and more effective treatments for these problematic diseases. ER -