A new coating for intravascular catheters could help prevent infections with a slow-release drug that prevents MRSA and the development of related biofilms for nearly a month.
Engineering and medical faculty at Brown University explained the development of their easily applied polyurethane coating in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. It gradually releases auranofin, which has been shown to kill methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and disrupt biofilms that can also resist antimicrobial treatment.
More than 150 million intravascular catheters are implanted each year in the U.S. and infections develop in about 250,000 patients annually, making CAUTIs the most common type of hospital-acquired infection.
“We wanted to develop a coating that could both kill [free-floating] bacteria and prevent colonization of bacteria on surfaces,” said Anita Shukla, Ph.D, assistant professor of engineering and corresponding author. “We have something really promising.”
The new technology will require testing in humans before it could be Food and Drug Administration approved.
From the April 1, 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
