n the UK, as many as 10,000 people die from Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) every year – 38% of these cases are the result of catheter-associated urinary infections. Ina bid topave the way in the battle against superbugs, Cambridge based Camstent has created the world’s first ‘bacteria-phobic’ catheter. CSJ spoke to the company’s CTO, DrDavid Hampton, to find out more.
Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) affect millions of people around the world and cost healthcare systems billions of pounds. It is estimated that one in 25 patients will get an HAI whilst being treated in hospital – a staggering 300,000 people a year in England. As well as being painful, they lead to longer hospitals stays for patients and seriously endanger health and lives.
“HAIs cost the NHS approximately £1 billion every year and one of its biggest contributors is catheter-acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTI) which are caused by bacterial colonisation of a catheter’s surface,” explained Dr David Hampton.
“Most CAUTIs develop within days of the catheter being inserted and sadly, the longer it is in the patient, the chances of developing an infection increases. The reason for this is because of the bacteria biofilms that form on the catheter surface. These change the environment around the catheter leading to mineralisation, tissue damage, inflammation and infection in the adjacent tissues.
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