BIOCOMPATIBLE COATING FOR AN URETHRAL CATHETER

IT HAS BEEN ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY A HALF-MILLION PATIENTS ACQUIRE URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS IN ACUTE CARE HOSPITALS IN THIS COUNTRY EVERY YEAR. THE USE OF THE URINARY CATHETER HAS BEEN CITED AS THE MAJOR CAUSE FOR SUCH INFECTIONS, THE MOST NUMEROUS OF ALL NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS. THIS TREND OF STEADY OR EVEN INCREASING URINARY TRACT NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE BECAUSE OF AN AGING POPULATION, REQUIRING REGIMES OF LENGTHY CATHETERIZATION, AND BECAUSE OF THE INCIDENCE OF ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT BACTERIA. THE TYPE OF SYNTHETIC PLASTIC IN CONTACT WITH THE URINARY TRACT, INCLUDING THE BLADDER SURFACE, AFFECTS THE INCIDENCE OF INFECTION UPON CATHETERIZATION. SILASTIC (I.E., SILICONE) CATHETERS, OR SILASTIC-COATED CATHETERS, ARE SUPERIOR TO RUBBER (LATEX), POLYVINYL CHLORIDE (PVC), OR TEFLON. ANATRACE, INC., WILL EVALUATE A PROVEN HIGHLY BIOCOMPATIBLE, LOW-COST POLYMER FAMILY (BIOBLAND) AS A COATING FOR LATEX AND PVC CATHETERS WITH A GOAL OF DECREASING THE INCIDENCE OF ENCRUSTATION AND INFECTION, THUSOFFERING AN IMPROVED PRODUCT AT LOWER COST THAN THE SILICONE-BASED DEVICES.