Microbial profiling of dental plaque from mechanically ventilated patients.

Microbial profiling of dental plaque from mechanically ventilated patients. J Med Microbiol. 2015 Dec 21; Authors: Sands KM, Twigg JA, Lewis MA, Wise MP, Marchesi JR, Smith A, Wilson MJ, Williams DW Abstract Microorganisms isolated from the oral cavity may translocate to the lower airways during mechanical ventilation leading to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Changes within the dental plaque microbiome during mechanical ventilation (MV) have been documented previously, primarily using culture-based techniques. The aim of this study was to use community profiling by high throughput sequencing to comprehensively analyse suggested microbial changes within dental plaque during MV. 16S rDNA gene sequences were obtained from 38 samples of dental plaque sampled from 13 mechanically ventilated patients and sequenced using the Illumina platform. Sequences were processed using Mothur, applying a 97% gene similarity cut-off for bacterial species level identifications. A significant 'microbial shift' occurred in the microbial community of dental plaque during MV for 9 out of 13 patients. Following extubation, or removal of the endotracheal tube (ETT) that facilitates ventilation, sampling revealed a decrease in the relative abundance of potential respiratory pathogens and a compositional change towards a more predominantly (in terms of abundance) oral microbiota including Prevotella spp., and streptococci. The results highlight the need ...
Source: Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: J Med Microbiol Source Type: research