Photo Credit: Sasirin pamai

The following is a summary of “Initial Antimicrobial Testing of a Novel Reusable Intermittent Urinary Catheter System and Catheter Reprocessing Device,” published in the July 2024 issue of Urology by Bella et al.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Aurie System, a preclinical prototype designed to enable the standardized reuse of novel reusable no-touch intermittent catheters (ICs). Individuals with neurogenic bladder often rely on single-use ICs for urination, yet urinary tract infections (UTIs) remain a significant morbidity concern for these users. Safer, no-touch catheters are typically costly, and the Aurie System seeks to provide an affordable alternative by facilitating the safe reuse of ICs.

The study involved inoculating standard ICs with E. coli and P. aeruginosa and incubating them for 48 hours to assess microbial burden and biofilm formation, the latter being analyzed through infrared fluorescence imaging. The same procedure was applied to the Aurie ICs to evaluate their microbial burden after inoculation and reprocessing with the prototype washer-disinfector. This process was repeated for up to 100 cycles to examine the durability and effectiveness of repeated use.

The standard ICs exhibited significant bacterial attachment and biofilm formation, peaking at 24 hours of incubation. Similar outcomes were observed with the Aurie catheters; however, after reprocessing, the microbial burden on the Aurie ICs was reduced to below-detectable levels. This level of pathogen clearance was consistently achieved across multiple cycles. One catheter that underwent 100 reprocessing cycles demonstrated no viable pathogen load post-reprocessing.

Inappropriately cleaned intermittent urinary catheters can harbor viable bacteria and biofilm, posing a risk of infection. The Aurie System, when utilized to disinfect reusable ICs within the prototype reprocessing device, effectively reduced the microbial burden to undetectable levels, even after 100 reprocessing cycles. These findings suggest that the Aurie System has the potential to be a viable technology for the safe reuse of intermittent catheters, offering a cost-effective solution to reduce the incidence of UTIs among IC users.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0090429524005673