Role of Bacterial Biofilms in Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) and Strategies for Their Control

UTI is considered to be the most common bacterial infection [107]. It is the second most common infection of any organ and is one of the most common infections in humans [157]. UTIs account for nearly 8 million physician visits and 1.5 million visits to emergency rooms annually in the United States [44, 87, 144]. Although every individual is susceptible to UTIs, certain specific subpopulations are more predisposed to the risk of UTIs. This includes infants, pregnant women, elderly, patients with spinal cord injuries and/or catheters, patients with diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or acquired immunodeficiency virus, and patients with underly‐ ing urologic abnormalities [13, 31, 43, 127, 130]. UTIs are usually localized to the bladder, kidneys or prostate. The etiology of UTIs has been regarded as well-established and consistent.