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Designing A Synthetic Spider Silk Based Coating For Urinary Catheters To Reduce The Risk Of Cautis, Tess Marie Armbrust
Designing A Synthetic Spider Silk Based Coating For Urinary Catheters To Reduce The Risk Of Cautis, Tess Marie Armbrust
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTis) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with life-threatening conditions. Foley catheters are the most common catheter used when a patient requires hospitalization but can become burdened with microbes which lead to CAUTis, the most common source of hospital acquired infection (HAI). The attached bacteria can form biofilms on the catheter which are difficult to treat using oral antibiotics and can lead to chronic infections. Synthetic spider silk as a catheter coating shows great promise because of demonstrated strength, biocompatibility, and antimicrobial properties. In addition, the antiseptic chlorhexidine can enhance the …