Catheters News and Research

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Neutral-pressure IV connector eliminates catheter-related bloodstream infections in cancer patients

A neutral-pressure IV needleless connector was associated with complete elimination of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) in a successful device trial at a large cancer center in the six-month period following implementation of the device.

8 Aug 2012

Link between cardiac catheterizations and risk of stroke

When a patient undergoes a cardiac catheterization procedure such as a balloon angioplasty, there's a slight risk of a stroke or other neurological complication.

7 Aug 2012

Study investigates standard practices for insertion and management of urinary catheters

A major international study led by University of Adelaide researchers aims to prevent death and serious illness caused by one of the most common infections contracted by patients in hospitals.

3 Aug 2012

Intraluminal protection device outperforms two negative-pressure IV connectors in MECH research

An IV connector known as an intraluminal protection device (IPD) significantly outperformed two widely used negative-pressure IV connectors in research performed at Methodist Extended Care Hospital (MECH).

1 Aug 2012

Slippery technology prevents harmful bacterial slime from forming on surfaces

Biofilms may no longer have any solid ground upon which to stand. A team of Harvard scientists has developed a slick way to prevent the troublesome bacterial communities from ever forming on a surface. Biofilms stick to just about everything, from copper pipes to steel ship hulls to glass catheters. The slimy coatings are more than just a nuisance, resulting in decreased energy efficiency, contamination of water and food supplies, and-especially in medical settings-persistent infections. Even cavities in teeth are the unwelcome result of bacterial colonies.

31 Jul 2012

How an opportunistic fungal pathogen knows when to attack

The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans inconspicuously lives in our bodies until it senses that we are weak, when it quickly adapts to go on the offensive. The fungus, known for causing yeast and other minor infections, also causes a sometimes-fatal infection known as candidemia in immunocompromised patients. An in vivo study, published in mBio, demonstrates how C. albicans can distinguish between a healthy and an unhealthy host and alter its physiology to attack.

25 Jul 2012

LSDF announces $570,000 in awards to support commercialization of new health-related products

The Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) today announced nearly $570,000 in awards in its inaugural corporate grant program to support commercialization of new health and health-care products by four early-stage Washington-based companies.

25 Jul 2012

FDA clears TMI’s Glider PTCA balloon catheter

TriReme Medical, Inc. (TMI) announced today that it has received FDA clearance for an expanded matrix of sizes for its unique Glider PTCA balloon catheter.

16 Jul 2012

Study investigates effect of SwabCap in catheter maintenance bundle

A disinfection cap used in IV therapy was the subject of an award-winning, multi-site study at a four-hospital, Chicago-area hospital system.

11 Jul 2012

Study links procedural pain and detectable oxidative stress in neonates

There was a time when a belief was widely held that premature neonates did not perceive pain. That, of course, has been refuted but measurements of neonate pain tend to rely on inexact measures, such as alertness and ability to react expressively to pain sensations. Researchers at Loma Linda University reported in The Journal of Pain that there is a significant relationship between procedural pain and detectable oxidative stress in neonates.

2 Jul 2012

Teleflex PICC receives FDA 510(k) clearance for central venous pressure monitoring

Teleflex Incorporated, a leading global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery, today announced its ArrowADVANTAGE5 pressure-injectable peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) has received FDA 510(k) clearance for central venous pressure (CVP) monitoring indication.

2 Jul 2012

Survey of home healthcare practices related to infection control

A healthy boy was infected with antibiotic-resistant bacterium that was traced to his mother's nurse's bag left in the family's car after his mother's home healthcare visit to a patient with the same infection. Although the boy's infection and the patient's infection were never DNA tested, the coincidence was remarkable.

26 Jun 2012

Clinical study to examine retrograde tibiopedal interventional approach for CLI

Clinical investigators are for the first time examining the retrograde tibiopedal interventional approach, an endovascular technique that has the potential to reduce the rate of leg amputations by as much as 50 percent in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI), a manifestation of peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

26 Jun 2012

Selenium reduces Staph populations in medical implants

Selenium is an inexpensive element that naturally belongs in the body. It is also known to combat bacteria. Still, it had not been tried as an antibiotic coating on a medical device material. In a new study, Brown University engineers report that when they used selenium nanoparticles to coat polycarbonate, the material of catheters and endotracheal tubes, the results were significant reductions in cultured populations of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, sometimes by as much as 90 percent.

22 Jun 2012

Multi-modal approach reduces pain and side effects of medication following joint replacement surgery

Reducing acute post-surgical pain and side effects of medications for patients undergoing knee and hip replacement surgery is the focus of a new multi-modal approach at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut.

19 Jun 2012

Penumbra adds MAX System of Reperfusion Catheters to family of aspiration thrombectomy devices

The Penumbra System family of aspiration thrombectomy devices now includes the MAX System of Reperfusion Catheters for removal of clots in patients experiencing acute ischemic stroke. The MAX System neuro-interventional devices offer a fast, simplified cerebral thrombectomy procedure with single-operator, over-the-wire delivery without the need for a large proximal balloon guide.

18 Jun 2012

Investigators identify alcohol prep pads contaminated with Bacillus cereus bacteria

A small cluster of unusual illnesses at a Colorado children's hospital prompted an investigation that swiftly identified alcohol prep pads contaminated with Bacillus cereus bacteria, according to a report in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

13 Jun 2012

FDA clears Teleflex’s Arrow FlexTip Plus Closed Tip, Multi-Port epidural catheter

Teleflex Incorporated announced today the Arrow FlexTip Plus Closed Tip, Multi-Port epidural catheter has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

30 May 2012

Cyanobacterium produces compounds that could treat chronic inflammatory conditions

A seaweed considered a threat to the healthy growth of coral reefs in Hawaii may possess the ability to produce substances that could one day treat human diseases, a new study led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has revealed.

25 May 2012

FDA clears Teleflex’s ARROW PICC with Chloragard technology

Teleflex Incorporated announced today that in addition to broad-spectrum antimicrobial protection, the pressure-injectable ARROW PICC with Chloragard Technology provides antithrombogenic protection for at least 30 days.

22 May 2012