Electrified urinary drainage bag: an in vitro study.
An experimental study was designed to examine the effect of electrical current on bacteria-contaminating urinary drainage bags. An experimental model analogous to a urinary drainage system has been formed. Bottles containing 1,000 ml urine inoculated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae or Escherichia coli in different experimental settings were drained with constant speed into urinary drainage bags in which platinum electrodes had been implanted. An experimental procedure involved applying an electrical current with a 12 V DC generator into bags containing urine for 24 h. Cultures were obtained separately from the bags and microorganism-inoculated bottles for 24 h and following a cessation of electrical current for another 24 h. In electrified bags, P. aeruginosa was killed in all experiments. E. coli and K. pneumoniae were eradicated at the end of 24 h. However, K. pneumoniae began to grow in increasing numbers following the cessation of the electrical current. An electrical current might decrease or eradicate the bacteria in urinary-drainage bags. This might be one of the ways to decrease the risk of in vivo cross-contamination and nosocomial infections.
Ekmekçioğlu
Oğuz
O
Erciyes University Medical Faculty, Department of Urology, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey. droguz@yahoo.com
Gökahmetoğlu
Selma
S
Demirci
Deniz
D
Demirtaş
Abdullah
A
Emirdoğan
Mustafa
M
Gülmez
Ibrahim
I
D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000254:growth & development; D016476:Urinary Reservoirs, Continent / Q000382:microbiology*; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology*