Biofilm Elimination on Intravascular Catheters: Important Considerations for the Infectious Disease Practitioner

The presence of biofilms on intravascular catheters and their role in catheter-related bloodstream infections is well accepted. The tolerance of catheter-associated biofilm organisms toward systemic antimicrobial treatments and the potential for development of antimicrobial resistance in the health...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 2011-04, Vol.52 (8), p.1038-1045
Main Author: Donlan, Rodney M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibiotics
Antimicrobials
Bacteriophages
Biofilms
Biofilms - drug effects
Biofilms - growth & development
Biological and medical sciences
Catheter-Related Infections - prevention & control
Catheters
Catheters, Indwelling - microbiology
Cells
Cross Infection - prevention & control
Dialysis
Disease prevention
Disinfection - methods
Drug resistance
Epidemiology
Ethanol
Health care industry
HEALTHCARE EPIDEMIOLOGY
Humans
Infection Control - methods
Infections
Infectious diseases
Medical sciences
Microbiology
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Summary:The presence of biofilms on intravascular catheters and their role in catheter-related bloodstream infections is well accepted. The tolerance of catheter-associated biofilm organisms toward systemic antimicrobial treatments and the potential for development of antimicrobial resistance in the health care environment underscores the importance of alternative treatment strategies. Biofilms are microbial communities that exhibit unique characteristics that must be considered when evaluating the potential of biofilm prevention or control strategies. Because biofilm-associated infections do not respond consistently to therapeutically achievable concentrations of many antimicrobial agents, treatments that are more effective against slowly growing biofilm cells or combination treatments that can penetrate the biofilm matrix may be more effective. Alternative strategies that do not incorporate antimicrobial drugs have also been investigated. These approaches have the potential to prevent or eradicate biofilms on indwelling intravascular catheters and prevent or resolve catheter-related infections.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1093/cid/cir077