Self-disinfecting plastics for intravenous catheters and prosthetic inserts.
A disinfectant (2,4,4'-trichloro-2'-hydroxydiphenyl ether: Irgasan, Ciba-Geigy) was incorporated into plastic washers fabricated from ethylvinyl acetate (EVA), polyethylene, polypropylene or TPX. Plastics containing 0.2 and 2% Irgasan gave zones of inhibition on nutrient and blood agar plates seeded with micro-organisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Staph. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis or Candida albicans) even after thorough washing. Exceptionally, C. albicans was inhibited only by 2% Irgasan, and EVA gave good inhibition only against the staphylococci. Similar washers of each plastic were implanted subcutaneously into the flanks of rabbits; before insertion each was washed, had thread woven into it and was surrounded by a plasma clot containing 2 X 10(8) Staph. aureus. All the plastics without Irgasan gave rise to abscesses, none of the plastics impregnated with 2% Irgasan did, though from 2 out of 12 sites small numbers of Staph. aureus were isolated at post mortem. Using either clinical or bacteriological criteria, the results were highly significant (P less than 0.00001 and P less than 0.001 respectively), demonstrating the effectiveness of this technique in preventing plastic-associated infection.
D000818:Animals; D002176:Candida albicans; D002224:Carbanilides; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D004926:Escherichia coli; D005549:Foreign-Body Reaction / Q000517:prevention & control; D010969:Plastics; D011095:Polyethylenes; D011126:Polypropylenes; D011145:Polyvinyls; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011513:Proteus mirabilis; D011817:Rabbits; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis; D013242:Sterilization / Q000379:methods*
D002224:Carbanilides; D010969:Plastics; D011095:Polyethylenes; D011126:Polypropylenes; D011145:Polyvinyls; C016438:ethylenevinylacetate copolymer; C005055:cloflucarban