Failure of Demonstrated Clinical Efficacy of Antibiotic- Bonded Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) Catheters

Previous in vitro, in vivo, and a preliminary clinical report have demonstrated efficacy of noncovalently bonding antibiotics to the surface of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPO) catheters in decreasing infectious complications. A larger prospective randomized clinical trial was completed. Eighty-six patients with chronic renal failure were enrolled in the study and randomized to receive either a surfactant treated or untreated control catheter. All catheters were soaked in cefoxitin at the time of insertion. Groups were comparable in terms of pre-existing illnesses, age, and gender. No differences were shown in the incidence of cathetertract infections, peritonitis or mechanical complications. There was also no differences in microbiologic culture results. Therefore, it is concluded that this clinical trial did not demonstrate a reduction in catheter-related infectious complications by antibiotic bonding