Prosthetic vascular graft infections of the thoracic aorta are rare but can be fatal. Our comparison of collagen- and gelatin-coated grafts showed that collagen-coated grafts were associated with increased biofilm formation and bacterial adherence in vitro and with higher rates of perioperative vascular graft infections in vivo.
Keywords: Prosthetic vascular graft infection; VASGRA; bacteria; biofilm; coating; collagen-coated; gelatin-coated; polyester.