Infections in patients with adverse reactions to the use of unknown modeling substances for soft tissue enhancement in Cali, Colombia

PLoS One. 2023 Feb 9;18(2):e0277958. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277958. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

The infiltration of foreign materials not approved for medical purposes or of modeling substances used in soft tissue to modify the anatomical appearance for aesthetic purposes represents a serious health problem. These procedures lead to the development of delayed complications, including infections. The objective of this study was to characterize infections in patients with adverse reactions to the use of modeling substances in Cali, Colombia. A cross-sectional and descriptive study was used to determine the frequency of bacterial and fungal infections associated with complications from and adverse reactions to the use of modeling substances in 113 patients. We identified microorganisms in 22 patients and a frequency of 68.1% monomicrobial infections and 31.8% polymicrobial infections. The microorganisms identified in our study included Bacillus cereus, Mycobacterium fortuitum, and Pseudomonas stutzeri, among other microorganisms. The presence of adverse effects derived from the use of illegal modeling substances has been demonstrated; among these effects, infections occur with high frequency and place the health of the patient at risk and increase problems in health care.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacteria
  • Colombia / epidemiology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Mycoses*
  • Soft Tissue Infections* / epidemiology
  • Soft Tissue Infections* / etiology

Grants and funding

Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Colombia (Minciencias, code 210477758178) financed this work. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.