Importance of Antimicrobial Catheters in Preventing CAUTI

• May 31, 2021
• Silvoguard

Being the most common type of HAIs, Catheter-Associated UTIs are usually caused by bacteria and fungi
A urinary tract includes the ureters, bladder, kidneys, and urethra and the infection of the urinary tract can happen anywhere in the urinary tract. Most UTIs only take place in the lower tract – urethra and bladder, however, UTIs can involve the ureters and kidneys, in the upper tract as well. Although compared to the lower tract, upper tract UTIs are rarer and are also more severe. It is one of the most common infections that a person can contract during catheterization in the hospital. There are numerous ways through which Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection can occur – the used catheter have high chances to become contaminated once it is inserted since there is no protocol of cleaning the catheter once inserted into the patient’s body, not emptying the drainage bag enough as it should be, catheter bag with urine in it may flow backwards into the bladder and a lot more.
As per standard guidelines, the presence of an indwelling catheter for more than 2 days, a positive urine culture indicative of the presence of UTI causing pathogens (bacteria) in urine and other factors such as fever are used for diagnosing CAUTI.

Cause of Infection

Indwelling catheters are the major cause of CAUTI, it is a tube inserted into the urethra which drains out urine from the bladder into a collection bag. A catheter is required during several hospital treatments in bedridden patients to assist with urination. A catheter is also required to closely monitor that how much urine kidneys are producing in few cases.

It has been found in many cases that the bladder doesn’t move urine out of the body quickly enough and thus making the chances of growing bacteria due to the retained urine.

Antimicrobial Catheter

The risk of catheter-related infection begins the moment a catheter is inserted. Since a catheter is half inserted into a patient’s body, it cannot be cleaned once in use. Just the way it can assist urination, it can also be instrumental in providing access to bacteria to gain entry into a patient’s body. Once inside the body, the bacteria can be very notorious for causing huge discomfort to the patients. The bacteria can also produce metabolites that change the pH of the urine and results in the deposition of salts, accumulation of debris, causing encrustation resulting in catheter blockage. A blocked catheter can cause huge inconvenience to the patients since it will keep retaining the urine inside the bladder and lead to severe pain and discomfort. Bacteria can also form biofilms which can give further strength to the bacteria to evade the action of antibiotics and the body’s immune response giving rise to further secondary complications. Bacteria can also travel further up and cause central infections in a patient’s body.

It has been evaluated by many researchers that impregnated catheters possess the ability to reduce catheter colonization and subsequently decrease the incidence of catheter-related infection.

Being a common Healthcare-Associated Infection, Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) occurs in most patients with prolonged hospitalization. It not only increases medical cost but also extends the stay of patients in ICU as compared to other medical issues. On average, over 70% of patients has to extend their stay in hospital due to Catheter-Associated UTI.

SilvoGuard® Antimicrobial Catheters which is fabricated with NanoAgCide^TM, - an antimicrobial silver nanoparticle-based additive and an antibacterial agent is one of the most effective approaches for preventing CAUTI. SilvoGuard® Antimicrobial Foley Catheters not only kills any bacteria coming in its contact but also kills bacteria coming in the close vicinity of the catheter. It has proven antibacterial activity against the majority of the UTI causing pathogens and also inhibits biofilm formation., thereby It controls the spread of infection and alleviates the risk of HAIs.

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