Comparative efficacy of commercially available and emerging antimicrobial urinary catheters against bacteriuria caused by E. coli in vitro.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of both commercially available and emerging urinary catheter technologies in relation to their effects on bacteriuria caused by Escherichia coli in vitro. Antiseptic urinary catheters have recently become commercially available and others are in the developmental stage.
METHODS: Silver alloy-coated catheters, antibiotic Nitrofurazone (NF)-coated catheters, and nitric oxide (NO)-coated catheters were tested against a noncoated control for their antiseptic ability. Inhibition of bacterial growth, biofilm formation, and the number of live bacteria within the biofilm, using up to 10(3) bacterial load were evaluated. Experiments were performed either in E. coli containing Luria broth media or in urine infected with E. coli.
RESULTS: NF- and NO-coated catheters had equivalent antimicrobial activity and eradicated all bacteria in planktonic and biofilm states. Silver-coated catheters had no effect on E. coli growth or biofilm formation compared with the control, although silver-coated catheters did inhibit bacterial levels within the biofilm by 50%.
CONCLUSIONS: NF- and NO-coated catheters are highly effective in preventing planktonic growth and biofilm formation. Silver-coated catheters were not found to be effective in this study.