Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections: Development of a Test Method for Assessing the Efficacy of Antimicrobial Technologies/Products

Urinary catheters are one of the most commonly utilized medical devices worldwide. They are used in virtually every healthcare setting and contribute to improvements in patient care. While urinary catheters provide invaluable aid to patients, they are not without complications, the most notable being catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). Once a urinary catheter is in place, pathogens may migrate to the bladder one of two ways, through the catheter lumen or extraluminally in the periurethral space. In vitro methods are useful tools for predicting clinical efficacy only if they accurately model the most important factors contributing to a clinical infection. Although in vitro methods can’t replace in vivo scenarios, outcomes may be improved as experiments approximate relevant criteria including the biofilm phenotype, time, media type, materials similarities and environment.