Application of Scanning Electron Microscopy for the Morphological Study of Biofilm in Medical Devices

The widespread use of medical devices has caused a great advance in the management of many diseases. Indwelling medical devices are being increasingly used for the treatment of functional deficits in numerous medical fields. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) represent the most commonly acquired bacterial infection. The risk of developing a urinary tract infection increases significantly with the use of indwelling devices such as catheters and urethral stents/sphincters. Although these catheters are valuable, they also have complications, the major complications are: encrustation, stone formation and biofilm formation. Microbial biofilms may pose a public health problem for persons requiring catheterization as the microorganisms in biofilms are difficult or impossible to be treated by antimicrobial agents.