THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF PLASMA AND HYDROGEL COATING ON ADHESION OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS-EPIDERMIDIS AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS TO POLYURETHANE CATHETERS

The adhesion of three Staphylococcus epidermidis and three S. aureus c linical isolates, to uncoated and hydrogel-coated polyurethane cathete rs was tested, following pretreatment of catheters with human plasma, Plasma significantly decreased the adhesion of S. epidermidis strains to uncoated polyurethane catheters, but had no significant effect on t he adhesion to hydrogel-coated catheters. The influence of plasma on a dhesion of S. aureus strains to catheters was strain dependent. Plasma significantly increased the adhesion of one strain (SA6) to uncoated catheters, For two other strains (SA3 and SA14) plasma produced no cle ar effect on their adhesion to uncoated catheters; adhesion values for each strain showed either a small but significant increase or a repli cate-dependent increase or decrease, However, plasma significantly inc reased the adhesion of all S. aureus strains to hydrogel-coated polyur ethane catheters. Overall, with the exception of one batch culture of S. epidermidis strain SE3 tested, attachment to plasma-treated hydroge l-coated catheters was statistically significantly lower, by up to 85% , than attachment to plasma-treated uncoated catheters for both S. epi dermidis and S. aureus.