A Novel Urinary Catheter with Tailorable Bactericidal Behavior
Abstract
In the United States, one million catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) occur annually, accounting for 40% of all healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). In the U.S., it is estimated that 1 in 25 hospitalized patients will contract a HAI. For military hospitals, the rate may be much higher per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) given the correlation of HAIs with treatment in an intensive care unit. Although some progress to address this problem has been made with the development of improved antimicrobial (catheter) coatings and improved procedures, the CDC estimates that CAUTI-related healthcare contributes about $500 million in direct medical costs and leads to as many as 13,000 deaths annually. For the proposed effort, we have assembled a strong team that includes a well-recognized urologist with the strong support of a world-class research organization (Lawson Health Research Institute) and the involvement of Dr. Jeremy Burton, a scientist recognized for bacterial infections of the urinary tract. In addition, Dr. David Grainger (University of Utah) will provide consultation. He is well known in the area of polymer-based, antimicrobial biomaterials and is expected to assist in the development and testing throughout the project. This project is designed as six specific aims. In the first four aims, we will fabricate a select number of modified silicones that include novel antibacterial additives that have been developed and perfected in the Iasis Molecular Science laboratories. The approach to antibacterial composites involves blending small particles (~1 um) of antibacterial powders that impart antibacterial characteristics to rubber such as those types used in urinary catheters. Our initial data reveal that these composite rubber materials can prevent the growth of bacteria that like to grow on catheters and impart infection to patients requiring their use. In our laboratory testing, our antibacterial materials perform better than the leading commercially available infection control catheters. We believe that the infection control catheters that are available today are not as protective as they need to be, given the prevalence of CAUTIs today. We believe our antibacterial materials may be able to greatly reduce the incidences of CAUTIs related to commonly utilized urological devices including Foley catheters and ureteral stents. We anticipate that devices fabricated from our materials can reduce healthcare-related expenditures for treating infection and ultimately save lives. Because our antibacterial materials are less expensive to produce than today s infection control solutions, we suggest that their use will be cost-effective. In the proposed effort, we will fabricate antibacterial composite materials including a novel water-loving lubricious coating that will provide ease of device introduction and deliver a low-level antiseptic for early antibacterial protection. In our studies, we will carry out a series of bench-top experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed composite materials. This testing will include material/coating durability evaluations, antibacterial effectiveness against known CAUTI causing bacteria, bacterial adhesion, duration of activity, biocompatibility with human cells of the urinary tract, and determination of the level of inflammation that these novel materials will impart to cultured human cells. These tests are designed to allow us to choose an optimal design for Foley catheter and ureteric stent test prototypes that can be evaluated in an animal model of CAUTI, i.e., the rabbit. In the short term, we anticipate that the approach we have taken to address CAUTIs will stimulate interest and likely partnership with a large catheter manufacturer that will accelerate the final designs and study of complete systems for use in human clinical evaluations. We anticipate that our data/outcomes will likely allow us to generate s
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 31, 2017
- Source ID
- W81XWH1610697
Entities
People
- David Vachon
Organizations
- Iasis Molecular Sciences (United States)
- United States Army