Silver hydrogel urinary catheters: evaluation of safety and efficacy in single patient with chronic spinal cord injury.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a large health burden for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) who have neurogenic bladder dysfunction, especially those patients using indwelling catheters. One method that has shown promise in recent years is the use of a silver hydrogel catheter (SHC). This article describes the outcome of a subject who was part of a prospective, randomized, double-blind study and assigned to use an SHC for 6 months. Using the indwelling SHC effectively prevented this subject from developing a symptomatic UTI. He did not display any symptoms suggestive of silver toxicity or increased serum levels of silver with chronic use of the device. Although no general conclusions can be drawn from this single-subject observation, the results suggest that SHC use has a positive effect. Use of this catheter for persons with neurogenic bladder dysfunction after SCI should be explored further with a study design that optimizes subject recruitment.