TY - JOUR
T1 - High-resolution imaging reveals microbial biofilms on patient urinary catheters despite antibiotic administration
AU - Walker, Jennifer N.
AU - Flores-Mireles, Ana L.
AU - Lynch, Aaron J.L.
AU - Pinkner, Chloe
AU - Caparon, Michael G.
AU - Hultgren, Scott J.
AU - Desai, Alana
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the 1F32DK104516-01 Grant to ALFM and the R01-DK051406 and the R01-AI108749-01 Grants to JNW, ALFM, AJLL, CP, MGC, and SJH from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Purpose: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are a significant cause of morbidity worldwide, as they account for 40% of all hospital-associated infections. Microbial biofilm formation on urinary catheters (UCs) limits antibiotic efficacy, making CAUTI extremely difficult to treat. To gain insight into the spatiotemporal microbe interactions on the catheter surface we sought to determine how the presence or absence of bacteriuria prior to catheterization affects the organism that ultimately forms a biofilm on the UC and how long after catheterization they emerge. Methods: Thirty UCs were collected from patients who received a urine culture prior to catheterization, a UC, and antibiotics as part of standard of care. Immunofluorescence imaging and scanning electron microscopy were used to visualize patient UCs. Results: Most patients did not have bacteria in their urine (based on standard urinalysis) prior to catheterization, yet microbes were detected on the majority of UCs, even with dwell times of < 3 days. The most frequently identified microbes were Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, and Escherichia coli. Conclusions: This study indicates that despite patients having negative urine cultures and receiving antibiotics prior to catheter placement, microbes, including uropathogens associated with causing CAUTI, could be readily detected on UCs with short dwell times. This suggests that a potential microbial catheter reservoir can form soon after placement, even in the presence of antibiotics, which may serve to facilitate the development of CAUTI. Thus, removing and/or replacing UCs as soon as possible is of critical importance to reduce the risk of developing CAUTI.
AB - Purpose: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are a significant cause of morbidity worldwide, as they account for 40% of all hospital-associated infections. Microbial biofilm formation on urinary catheters (UCs) limits antibiotic efficacy, making CAUTI extremely difficult to treat. To gain insight into the spatiotemporal microbe interactions on the catheter surface we sought to determine how the presence or absence of bacteriuria prior to catheterization affects the organism that ultimately forms a biofilm on the UC and how long after catheterization they emerge. Methods: Thirty UCs were collected from patients who received a urine culture prior to catheterization, a UC, and antibiotics as part of standard of care. Immunofluorescence imaging and scanning electron microscopy were used to visualize patient UCs. Results: Most patients did not have bacteria in their urine (based on standard urinalysis) prior to catheterization, yet microbes were detected on the majority of UCs, even with dwell times of < 3 days. The most frequently identified microbes were Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, and Escherichia coli. Conclusions: This study indicates that despite patients having negative urine cultures and receiving antibiotics prior to catheter placement, microbes, including uropathogens associated with causing CAUTI, could be readily detected on UCs with short dwell times. This suggests that a potential microbial catheter reservoir can form soon after placement, even in the presence of antibiotics, which may serve to facilitate the development of CAUTI. Thus, removing and/or replacing UCs as soon as possible is of critical importance to reduce the risk of developing CAUTI.
KW - Asymptomatic catheter-associated bacteriuria
KW - CAUTI
KW - Catheter colonization
KW - Microbial biofilms
KW - Urinary catheterization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075988466&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00345-019-03027-8
DO - 10.1007/s00345-019-03027-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 31792577
AN - SCOPUS:85075988466
SN - 0724-4983
VL - 38
SP - 2237
EP - 2245
JO - World Journal of Urology
JF - World Journal of Urology
IS - 9
ER -