Prevalence and Influence of Fungal Biofilm in Wound Infections
摘要
Wound infections disrupt the normal wound healing process leading to longer treatment, hospitalisation, patient discomfort, and in extreme cases severe outcomes like amputations and death, representing one of the major challenges in the healthcare system. Biofilms represent close to 78% of these infections, and while the role of bacterial pathogens and polymicrobial biofilms has been widely recognised in the field, fungi are generally ignored. This is also evident in the disproportionate focus on bacterial biofilm model development for the testing of wound therapies, with very few studies incorporating fungal species within them, all primarily focused on Candida albicans. Hence, the role of fungi in these infections is poorly understood. In this chapter, we present a summary of studies evaluating fungal prevalence in various wound types, demonstrating that not only are fungi present in wounds at a larger rate than expected, but there is vast species diversity in these communities. We also provide an overview of the diagnostic methods used for fungal detection throughout these studies and their pitfalls. Finally, we discuss current developments in wound biofilm model development and the potential role of fungi in polymicrobial biofilms, highlighting the need for further research on fungi in wounds.