Purulent mediastinitis: microbiological structure of pathogens and choice of the optimal antiseptic for the sanitation of the purulent inflammatory process

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32782/2415-8127.2026.73.3

Keywords:

purulent diseases, surgical treatment, pathogenic microorganisms, antiseptics

Abstract

Purulent mediastinitis is characterized by a severe course and occupies a special place among purulent-septic processes, accompanied by high rates of complications and mortality. The relevance of the problem is due to changes in the etiological structure of pathogens, the increase in antibiotic resistance and the need to optimize local antiseptic therapy in the postoperative period.

The aim: to improve the results of treatment of patients with purulent mediastinitis by studying the structure of isolated pathogens and determining the sensitivity of pathogenic microflora to antiseptic agents.

The results of the examination and treatment of 59 patients with purulent mediastinitis who were inpatients during 2020-2025 were analyzed. Microbiological examination of biomaterial (contents of drainages, mediastinal washes, material from postoperative wounds and pleural cavity) was performed according to generally accepted methods with species identification of pathogens. The sensitivity of microorganisms to decamethoxine, octenidine, chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine was determined by the method of two-fold serial dilutions with the establishment of the minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations. Statistical processing was performed using the STATISTICA package, the results are presented in the form of M±σ.

The main causes of purulent mediastinitis were odontogenic phlegmons of the neck (28.8%), ENT-associated phlegmons (23.7%) and damage to the esophagus of various genesis (30.5%). The prevalence of gram-positive microflora (54.33%), among which Staphylococcus aureus dominated, was established. Among gram-negative pathogens, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were most often isolated. A comparative analysis of the sensitivity of microorganisms to antiseptic agents showed that decamethoxine and octenidine have statistically similar pronounced bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects compared to chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine (p<0.05).

The results obtained indicate the feasibility of using decamethoxine and octenidine for local sanitation in purulent mediastinitis, taking into account the structure of pathogens and their sensitivity.

References

Lemmet T, Mazzucotelli JP, Collange O, Fath L, Mutter D, Brigand C, et al. Infectious Mediastinitis: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 May 3;11(5):225-227. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae225.

Shaprynskyi VO, Kryvetskyi VF, Shaprynskyi YeV, Mitiuk BO, Vorovskyi OO, Suleimanova VG, et al. Features of purulent mediastinitis in patients with comorbid secondary immunodeficiency. The Ukrainian Journal of Clinical Surgery. 2025 Dec 6;92(6):20-24. doi: 10.26779/2786-832X.2025.6.20.

Shevchuk ІМ, Snizhko SS. Surgical treatment of patients with descending purulent mediastinitis. Medicni perspektivi. 2021;26(4):118-123. doi: 10.26641/2307-0404.2021.4.248192 [In Ukrainian].

Xu Y, Liang G, Huang C, Wang Y, Liang Z, Jiang Y, et al. Mediastinal infections: diagnostic and therapeutic advances from traditional surgery to novel minimally invasive techniques. Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Sep 10;12:1653443. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1653443.

Chaulk RC, Sahai D, Raj L, Nayak R. Etiology, diagnosis, and management of descending necrotizing mediastinitis: a narrative review. Mediastinum. 2025 Mar 6;9:9. doi: 10.21037/med-24-29.

Overton ET, Lawrence SJ, Stapleton JT, Weidenthaler H, Schmidt D, Koenen B. A randomized phase II trial to compare safety and immunogenicity of the MVA-BN smallpox vaccine at various doses in adults with a history of AIDS. Vaccine. 2020 Mar 4;38(11):2600-2607. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.01.058.

Angelini A, Mosele N, Pagliarini E, Ruggieri P. Current concepts from diagnosis to management in Gorham-Stout disease: a systematic narrative review of about 350 cases. EFORT Open Rev. 2022 Jan 11;7(1):35-48. doi: 10.1530/EOR-21-0083.

Righi E, Mutters NT, Guirao X, Dolores Del Toro M, Eckmann C, Friedrich AW, et al. European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases/European Committee on infection control clinical guidelines on pre-operative decolonization and targeted prophylaxis in patients colonized by multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria before surgery. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2024 Dec;30(12):1537-1550. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2024.07.012.

Michalik M, Podbielska-Kubera A, Dmowska-Koroblewska A. Antibiotic Resistance of Staphylococcus aureus Strains-Searching for New Antimicrobial Agents-Review. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2025 Jan 11;18(1):81. doi: 10.3390/ph18010081.

Lui GCY, Lai CKC. Community acquired pneumonia due to antibiotic resistant- Streptococcus pneumoniae : diagnosis, management and prevention. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2025 May 1;31(3):211-217. doi: 10.1097/MCP.0000000000001153.

Nazarchuk O, Dmyrtriiev D, Babina Y, Faustova M, Burkot V. Research of the activity of local anesthetics and antiseptics regarding clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii as pathogens of postoperative infectious complications. Acta Biomed. 2022 Mar 14;93(1):e2022003. doi: 10.23750/abm.v93i1.11842.

Riesbeck K, Kovalchuk V, Denysko T, Faustova M, Chornopyshchuk R, et al. Modern antiseptics against multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, emerging from war-related injuries in Ukraine. Front Microbiol. 2025 Oct 31;16:1656270. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1656270.

Günther F, Blessing B, Dapunt U, Mischnik A, Mutters NT. Ability of chlorhexidine, octenidine, polyhexanide and chloroxylenol to inhibit metabolism of biofilm-forming clinical multidrug-resistant organisms. J Infect Prev. 2021 Jan;22(1):12-18. doi: 10.1177/1757177420963829.

Published

2026-05-29

How to Cite

Шапринський, В. О., Назарчук, О. А., Кривецький, В. Ф., Сулейманова, В. Г., Мітюк, Б. О., & Верба, М. А. (2026). Purulent mediastinitis: microbiological structure of pathogens and choice of the optimal antiseptic for the sanitation of the purulent inflammatory process. Scientific Bulletin of the Uzhhorod University. Series «Medicine», (1(73), 17-23. https://doi.org/10.32782/2415-8127.2026.73.3

Issue

Section

GENERAL SURGERY (ALL SURGICAL DISCIPLINES)

Most read articles by the same author(s)