Adherence of Corynebacterium urealyticum (CDC group D2) and Corynebacterium jeikeium to intravascular and urinary catheters.

The ability of Corynebacterium urealyticum, Corynebacterium jeikeium and other control strains to adhere to two intravascular catheters (polyvinyl chloride and Teflon) and one urinary catheter (Teflon-coated rubber) was studied. Results demonstrated that the Corynebacterium species adhered to all catheter materials in greater numbers than a control strain of Micrococcus luteus (p < 0.001). There was not a clear difference in the ability of the strains of Corynebacterium jeikeium and Corynebacterium urealyticum to adhere to the catheters tested, so that differences other than this property could explain their different pathogenicity for humans.