The assessment of catheter-induced urethritis using an experimental dog model.

A new experimental model for the assessment of urethral catheters is described. Fifty catheters, comprising brands of latex, silicone, teflon-coated latex and polyvinylchloride (PVC) were assessed. The silicone, teflon-coated latex and PVC catheters were shown to cause minimal inflammatory change of the urethral mucosa, whereas the latex catheters showed variable and more marked changes. The model was simple to establish, and gave reproducible results.