EDITORIAL COMMENT

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common bacterial infections observed after kidney transplantation. Urinary catheters impregnated with antimicrobials, can inhibit or delay pathogen colonization and may contribute to infection prevention. However most studies comparing catheters impregnated with antimicrobials exclude immunosuppressed patients, such as kidney transplant recipients. In this pilot, single-centre, open-label, randomised controlled trial authors have tested whether Nitrofurazone-coated silicone urinary catheters reduced asymptomatic bacteriuria and UTIs in adult living donor kidney transplant recipients. Two hundred fourteen living donor kidney transplant recipients were randomised in a 1:1 ratio with a computer-generated system to a Nitrofurazone-coated silicone urinary catheter and non-impregnated silicone urinary catheter of whom 176 completed the study. There were no differences between groups in the reduction of asymptomatic bacteriuria and UTIs. Patients reported higher levels of discomfort and side effects with the use of Nitrofurazone-coated catheter (46.6% vs 38.9%, p=0.007). The results of this study do not suggest the use of Nitrofurazone-coated silicone urinary catheters in this population.