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Updated: Jun 14, 2025
Establishment and Characterization of UTI and CAUTI in a Mouse Model
Published on: June 23, 2015
Materials-based incidence of urinary catheter associated urinary tract infections and the causative micro-organisms:
Benjamin Gambrill1, Fabrizio Pertusati1, Stephen Fon Hughes2
1School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3NB, UK.
Insights
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are common and costly. This review found no single catheter type significantly reduces CAUTI incidence, highlighting the need for new device development.
Area of Science:
- Medical Microbiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Biomaterials Science
Background:
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are frequently associated with urinary catheterization, leading to Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs).
- CAUTIs represent a significant healthcare burden, contributing to antibiotic resistance and increased treatment costs.
- Developing novel catheter devices is crucial to mitigate CAUTI incidence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and assess the incidence of CAUTIs across various urinary catheter devices.
- To identify the common microorganisms responsible for CAUTIs in patients requiring catheterization.
- To evaluate the efficacy of different catheter materials and modifications in reducing CAUTI rates.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature review was performed using major databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid Medline).
- Inclusion criteria focused on studies investigating UTI incidence and causative agents in patients with different urinary catheter devices.
- Data extraction included UTI incidence, odds ratios for CAUTI, and identified microorganisms; meta-analysis was conducted for comparative assessments.
Main Results:
- Twenty-six unique articles from 890 identified studies met the review criteria, analyzing catheters made of silicone, latex, and PVC, as well as silver nanoparticle and nitrofurantoin-coated devices.
- While no single catheter material definitively reduced CAUTI risk, silver-based and silver alloy catheters showed a statistically significant reduction in the odds ratio of developing CAUTIs.
- The most frequent bacterial genera identified were E. coli, Enterococcus spp., and Pseudomonas spp., with E. coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Enterococcus faecalis being most common at the species level.
Conclusions:
- Current urinary catheter types do not offer a significant reduction in CAUTI incidence.
- Further research and development are essential to create innovative catheter materials and designs that effectively lower CAUTI rates.
- Addressing CAUTIs requires a focus on advanced catheter technology to improve patient outcomes and combat antimicrobial resistance.
Background:
Both long (> 30 days) and short-term (≤ 30 days) catheterisation has been associated with urinary tract infections (UTIs) due to the invasive nature of device insertion through the urethra. Catheter associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs) are common (prevalence of ~ 8.5%) infections which can be treated with antibiotics; however, CAUTIs are both expensive to treat and contributes to the antibiotic usage crisis. As catheters are unlikely be replaced for the management of patients' urination, ways of reducing CAUTIs are sought out, using the catheter device itself. The aim of this review is to assess the incidence of CAUTI and the causative micro-organisms when different urinary catheter devices have been used by humans, as reported in published research articles.
Methods:
A Systematic Literature Review was conducted in Ovid Medline, Web of Science and PubMed, to identify studies which investigated the incidence of UTI and the causative micro-organisms, in patients with different urinary catheter devices. The articles were selected based on a strict set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data regarding UTI incidence was extracted and calculated odds ratio were compared across studies and pooled when types of catheters were compared. CAUTI causative micro-organisms, if stated within the research pieces, were also gathered.
Results:
A total of 890 articles were identified, but only 26 unique articles met the inclusion/exclusion criteria for this review. Amongst the large cohort there were catheters of materials silicone, latex and PVC and catheter modifications of silver nanoparticles and nitrofurantoin antibiotics. The meta-analysis did not provide a clear choice towards a single catheter against another although silver-based catheters, and silver alloy, appeared to statistically reduce the OR of developing CAUTIs. At genus level the three commonest bacteria identified across the cohort were E. coli, Enterococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. whilst considering only at the genus level, with E. coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Enterococcus faecalis most common at the species-specific level.
Conclusions:
There does not appear to be a catheter type, which can significantly reduce the incidence of CAUTI's in patients requiring catheterisation. Ultimately, this warrants further research to identify and develop a catheter device material that will reduce the incidence for CAUTIs.
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