title: Effect of polyurethane catheters and bacterial biofilms on the in-vitro activity of antimicrobials against Staphylococcus epidermidis.
abstract: The effect of two polyurethane ['Cavafix Certo' (CAV); 'Viacath' (VIA)] catheters on the in-vitro activity of amikacin (AN), clindamycin (CM), cloxacillin (CX), ciprofloxacin (CIP), vancomycin (VA), teicoplanin (TEI) and daptomycin (DAP) against slime producing and non-producing Staphylococcus epidermidis strains was determined using a microdilution assay. None of the antimicrobial agents was significantly affected in the presence of the catheters. The susceptibility of S. epidermidis attached to CAV and VIA catheters was also evaluated. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were similar when planktonic and attached bacteria were compared. Minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) markedly increased in the presence of 6 and 48 h bacterial biofilms. These increases in MBC values occurred when either slime producing or non-producing strains were used, and in most cases were higher for CAV catheters than for VIA catheters. This phenomenon was shown not to be due to differences in bacterial adherence. It is concluded that the in-vitro bactericidal activity of certain antimicrobials markedly decreased when bacteria adhered to plastic catheters, but this effect could have been dependent partially on the nature of the catheters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Sevilla Medical School, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pascual
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ramirez de Arellano
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martínez Martínez
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Perea
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011140:Polyurethanes; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D011140:Polyurethanes