The efficacy of noble metal alloy urinary catheters in reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infection.

BACKGROUND

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common device-related healthcare-acquired infection. CAUTI can be severe and lead to bacteremia, significant morbidity, prolonged hospital stay, and high antibiotic consumption.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this study, we evaluated the CAUTI-reducing efficacy of noble metal alloy catheters in sixty patients (thirty per group) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the King Fahad Hospital in Saudi Arabia. The study was a single-blinded, randomized, single-centered, prospective investigation that included patients using urinary catheters for 3 days.

RESULTS

A 90% relative risk reduction in the rate of CAUTI was observed with the noble metal alloy catheter compared to the standard catheter (10 vs. 1 cases, = 0.006). When considering both catheter-associated asymptomatic bacteriuria and CAUTI, the relative risk reduction was 83% (12 vs. 2 cases, = 0.005). In addition to CAUTI, the risk of acquiring secondary bacteremia was lower (100%) for the patients using noble metal alloy catheters (3 cases in the standard group vs. 0 case in the noble metal alloy catheter group, = 0.24). No adverse events related to any of the used catheters were recorded.

CONCLUSION

Results from this study revealed that noble metal alloy catheters are safe to use and significantly reduce CAUTI rate in ICU patients after 3 days of use.