title: The efficacy of noble metal alloy urinary catheters in reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common device-related healthcare-acquired infection. CAUTI can be severe and lead to bacteremia, significant morbidity, prolonged hospital stay, and high antibiotic consumption.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, we evaluated the CAUTI-reducing efficacy of noble metal alloy catheters in sixty patients (thirty per group) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the King Fahad Hospital in Saudi Arabia. The study was a single-blinded, randomized, single-centered, prospective investigation that included patients using urinary catheters for 3 days.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 90% relative risk reduction in the rate of CAUTI was observed with the noble metal alloy catheter compared to the standard catheter (10 vs. 1 cases,P= 0.006). When considering both catheter-associated asymptomatic bacteriuria and CAUTI, the relative risk reduction was 83% (12 vs. 2 cases,P= 0.005). In addition to CAUTI, the risk of acquiring secondary bacteremia was lower (100%) for the patients using noble metal alloy catheters (3 cases in the standard group vs. 0 case in the noble metal alloy catheter group,P= 0.24). No adverse events related to any of the used catheters were recorded.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results from this study revealed that noble metal alloy catheters are safe to use and significantly reduce CAUTI rate in ICU patients after 3 days of use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Intensive Care Unit, King Fahad University Hospital, University of Dammam, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Alanood Ahmed
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Aljohi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Intensive Care Unit, King Fahad University Hospital, University of Dammam, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hanan Elkefafy
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Intensive Care Unit, King Fahad University Hospital, University of Dammam, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Rakesh Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Gupta
keywords: Anti-infective; Foley catheter; antimicrobial; bacteremia; bacteriuria; catheter-associated urinary tract infection; hospital-acquired infection; hydrogel; infection; noble metal alloy; silver alloy; urinary catheter