title: Culture-independent microbiological analysis of foley urinary catheter biofilms.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), a leading cause of nosocomial disease, is complicated by the propensity of bacteria to form biofilms on indwelling medical devices [1,2,3,4,5].
  
  
  RESULTS
  To better understand the microbial diversity of these communities, we report the results of a culture-independent bacterial survey of Foley urinary catheters obtained from patients following total prostatectomy. Two patient subsets were analyzed, based on treatment or no treatment with systemic fluoroquinolone antibiotics during convalescence. Results indicate the presence of diverse polymicrobial assemblages that were most commonly observed in patients who did not receive systemic antibiotics. The communities typically contained both Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms that included multiple potential pathogens.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prevention and treatment of CAUTI must take into consideration the possible polymicrobial nature of any particular infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: Shandra S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Allison L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: St Amand
authors.forename: Norman R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Pace
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018441:Biofilms; D018533:Biomass; D002404:Catheterization; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000382:microbiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000378:metabolism; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000378:metabolism; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal