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New Technique Could Prevent Dangerous Biofilms On Catheters

posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday November 25 2015, @11:43PM   
from the maybe-save-a-life dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Biofilms frequently coat the surfaces of catheters, and of various medical implants and prostheses, where they can cause life-threatening infections. New research at the Sahlgrenska Academy show that coating implants with a certain "activator" can prevent Staphylococcus aureus, the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, from forming biofilms.

Biofilms are mats of bacteria similar to the plaque that grows on teeth. Biofilms frequently coat the surfaces of catheters, and of various medical implants and prostheses, where they can threaten lives or lead to failure of the implants.

Antibiotics are impotent against biofilms. Now Gothenburg researchers Jakub Kwiecinski, Tao Jin and collaborators show that coating implants with "tissue plasminogen activator" can prevent Staphylococcus aureus, the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, from forming biofilms.

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Original Submission

• High chance of infection (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @03:11AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 26 2015, @03:11AM (#268225)

  I went to a seminar on UTIs acquired from catheters and the infection rate is ridiculously high. IIRC the speaker said that if a catheter is in for more than five days, then a UTI is basically guaranteed as the rate is close to 100%. I don't remember S. aureus being high up on the list of catheter-acquired infections, though.

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