Comparative In Vitro Efficacies of Various Catheter Lock Solutions

anol as potential catheter lock solutions have a unique mechanism of action, broad-spectrum activity, and antico-agulant properties. Traditional lock solutions minocycline (M), rifampin (R), ciprofloxacin (C), and vancomycin, except pharmacologic concentrations of C and R and of M and R, were less effective than MEDTA and T/PVP. Systemic antibiotics alone eradicate only approximately one-third of catheter-related bloodstream infections (20); catheter replacement, often difficult, is usually required (4, 43). Most long-term catheter infections originate in the lumen, where systemic antibiotics do not reach (39). Killing organisms in biofilm requires antibiotic concentrations that systemic therapy cannot deliver (22, 32). A number of studies illustrate that filling a catheter lumen with high concentrations of antibiotics (lock technique) can eradicate bacteria, improving catheter salvage rates. Minocycline-edetate calcium disodium (MEDTA) (7, 11, 25, 27, 30), taurolidine-polyvinylpyrolidine (T/PVP) (2, 6, 33, 38