Preventing biofilm on urinary catheters
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A pilot study to characterise the effectiveness of a bacteriophobic coating in preventing biofilm accumulation on urinary catheters.
IRAS ID
232293
Contact name
David Humes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham Research and Innovation,
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI) cause significant complications in patients. As much as 40% of all HAIs are associated with the use of urinary catheters, causing discomfort to patients (i.e. prostatitis, epididymitis, cystitis etc.), prolonged hospital stays, and increases in costs of care and patient mortality, with more than 13,000 deaths associated with urinary tract infections each year.
Efforts have been made to address the problem through better staff training, minimising the duration of device use and application of device coatings intended to kill the bacteria using antibiotic drugs or silver toxins. None have had much success in reducing infection rates.
Bacteria spread via biofilm growth, a biofilm is a community of microorganisms found on a surface; a common example of a biofilm is dental plaque.
Biofilms can also form on catheters and are recognised as the basis for infection.
Camstent Ltd. are focussed on the prevention of biofilm formation and subsequently, the bacterium that cause infection.
Camstent Ltd have coated a standard NHS catheter with a coating designed to inhibit biofilm formation. The effect of Camstent's coating has been demonstrated previously in the laboratory and this pilot study will look at performance in a clinical setting..
The participants (n=40) are adult patients that will be undergoing routine catheterisation as part of their standard hospital care. 20 will receive standard uncoated catheters, and 20 the Camstent coated catheter. Both versions are approved for patient use. Standard hospital issue catheterisation Protocols for patient selection and insertion/withdrawal will be followed.
The supplement to hospital protocol only occurs after withdrawal. Instead of disposing the catheter as medical waste, the catheters will be sent for biofilm analysis.
If successful, the study will demonstrate an effective method for reducing a major source of HAI, with the potential to improve patient outcomes and decrease hospital care costs.REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/EM/0266
Date of REC Opinion
5 Oct 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion