A prospective, controlled, randomized study of the effect of a slow-release silver device on the frequency of urinary tract infection in newly catheterized patients

Objective To test the effect on urinary tract infections (UTIs) in patients needing continuous indwelling catheterization, of a newly designed urine-c ollecting system containing an antibacterial device which slowly releases s ilver ions onto the inner surface of the system. Patients and methods The study comprised a prospective controlled randomize d trial; 213 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. They were randomize d to a urine drainage system (comprising a Unometer 400 metering system or PP 2000N closed urine-bag system, both from Maersk Medical, Denmark) either with or without the antibacterial device. The efficacy was assessed as the number of UTIs and the time to infection in the 170 patients eligible for analysis. Results There were fewer UTIs in those using the system containing the anti bacterial device (19% vs 24%), but the difference was not statistically sig nificant (P < 0.05). Conclusion The potential importance of different infection routes were high lighted, suggesting that modifications to Foley catheters and urine-collect ing systems attempting to prevent UTIs should focus not only on the intralu minal pathway, hut on the internal and external pathways of infection.