Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32028684›Full record

ReviewAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)2020

Bacterial Biofilm and its Role in the Pathogenesis of Disease.

Lene K Vestby, Torstein Grønseth, Roger Simm, Live L Nesse

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 489 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
489citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
41.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

489 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,039 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Biological Mechanisms of Polyphenols againstInfectious disorders drug targets · 2025
    Pooled it
  4. Article
  5. Early and matureBiofilm · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Fermentation-Derived 6-Shogaol fromInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article

429 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Lene K VestbyDepartment of Immunology and Virology, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 750 Sentrum, N-0106 Oslo, Norway.
Torstein GrønsethDepartment of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Oslo University Hospital HF, Postboks 4950 Nydalen, 0424 Oslo, Norway.
Roger SimmInstitute of Oral Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1052, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway.
Live L NesseDepartment of Food Safety and Animal Health Research, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 750 Sentrum, N-0106 Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Veterinary Institute · NOOslo University Hospital · NOUniversity of Oslo · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Recognition of the fact that bacterial biofilm may play a role in the pathogenesis of disease has led to an increased focus on identifying diseases that may be biofilm-related. Biofilm infections are typically chronic in nature, as biofilm-residing bacteria can be resilient to both the immune system, antibiotics, and other treatments. This is a comprehensive review describing biofilm diseases in the auditory, the cardiovascular, the digestive, the integumentary, the reproductive, the respiratory, and the urinary system. In most cases reviewed, the biofilms were identified through various imaging technics, in addition to other study approaches. The current knowledge on how biofilm may contribute to the pathogenesis of disease indicates a number of different mechanisms. This spans from biofilm being a mere reservoir of pathogenic bacteria, to playing a more active role, e.g., by contributing to inflammation. Observations also indicate that biofilm does not exclusively occur extracellularly, but may also be formed inside living cells. Furthermore, the presence of biofilm may contribute to development of cancer. In conclusion, this review shows that biofilm is part of many, probably most chronic infections. This is important knowledge for development of effective treatment strategies for such infections.

Indexed as

biofilmcancerendocarditisinflammatory bowel disease (IBD)otitis mediaprostatitisrhinosinusitisurinary tract infectionsvaginosiswound infections

Identifiers

PMID32028684
PMCPMC7167820
OpenAlexW3004140701

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.