Prevention of Catheter-related Infections (CRIs) using Ciprofloxacin

Microbial infection provokes one of the most serious complications to the patients with indwelling catheters. Ciprofloxacin (CFX) was added into the catheter materials (polyurethane or silicone) during the manufacturing process to avoid the microbial infection. Efficacy of the catheters containing CFX was investigated by using the in vitro zone of growth inhibition test method. The catheters made of polyurethane or silicone exhibited a strong antimicrobial activity against the major catheter-related microorganisms (S. aureus, S. epidermidis, P. aeruginosa and E. coli), when CFX was incorporated into the catheters. Fetal bovine serum (FBS) did not affected antimicrobial activities of the polyurethane catheters with CFX loading of 0.5 and 1.0％ (W/W) against S. aureus and S. epidermidis. However, the polyurethane catheters with 1.0％ (W/W) of CFX loading showed a significantly (P<0.05) reduced antimicrobial activity against E. coli when the catheters were exposed to FBS. Silicone catheters with 1.0 and 1.5％ (W/W) of CFX loading demonstrated effective antimicrobial activity against S. epidermidis for at least 2 weeks. These results suggest that the use of catheters containing ciprofloxacin could be effective in preventing catheter-related infections.