218. Dilute Calcium Chloride Irrigation Reduces Bacterial Adhesion

Surgical wounds are frequently contaminated by microbes despite sterile technique, but innate immune defense systems can generally prevent infection if the bacterial burden is not too great. Surgeons generally irrigate wounds with sterile saline or water to reduce contamination. Antibacterial agents may be included to kill bacteria, but less attention has been directed at interfering with bacterial adhesion. Wound fluids are low in calcium and high in magnesium and manganese. We hypothesized that manipulating divalent cation concentrations might influence bacterial adhesion.