Abstract
Background: Although indwelling catheters are increasingly used in modern medicine, they can be a source of microbial contamination and hard-to-treat biofilms, which jeopardize patient lives. At times 70% ethanol is used as a catheter-lock solution due to its bactericidal properties. However, high concentrations of ethanol can result in adverse effects and in malfunction of the catheters. Objective: To determine whether low concentrations of ethanol can prevent and treat biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods: Ethanol was tested at a concentration range of 0.625-80% against laboratory and clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa for various time periods (2-48 hours). The following parameters were evaluated following ethanol exposure: prevention of biofilm formation, reduction of biofilm metabolic activity, and inhibition of biofilm regrowth. Results: Exposing P. aeruginosa to twofold ethanol gradients demonstrated a significant biofilm inhibition at concentrations as low as 2.5%. Treating pre-formed biofilms of P. aeruginosa with 20% ethanol for 4 hours caused a sharp decay in the metabolic activity of both the laboratory and clinical P. aeruginosa isolates. In addition, treating mature biofilms with 20% ethanol prevented the regrowth of bacteria encased within it. Conclusions: Low ethanol concentrations (2.5%] can prevent in vitro biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa. Treatment of previously formed biofilms can be achieved using 20% ethanol, thereby keeping the catheters intact and avoiding complications that can result from high ethanol concentrations.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 299-302 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Israel Medical Association Journal |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 5 |
State | Published - May 2020 |
Keywords
- Catheters
- Central lines
- Ethanol
- Healthcare-associated infections
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Medicine