In vitro microbiology studies on a new peritoneal dialysis connector

Objective: We evaluated the ability of a recently developed peritoneal dialysis (PD) connector to prevent the risk of bacterial transfer to the fluid path after simulated touch and airborne contamination. Methods: Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC1228 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC27853 strains were used. For touch contamination, 2 μL of a standardized inoculum [1×108 colony-forming units (CFU) per milliliter] were deposited on top of the pin closing the fluid path of the patient connector. For airborne contamination, the patient connector was exposed for 15 seconds to a nebulized standardized inoculum. To simulate the patient peritoneum and effluent, the patient connector was pre-attached to a 2-L bag of sterile PD solution. After contamination, the patient connector was attached to the transfer set, the pin was captured, flow control was turned to simulate "patient drain" into the empty bag, and then "patient fill" using the bag pre- attached to the connector. Finally, a new pin was recaptured. The PD solution collected in the bag pre-attached to the connector was run through a 0.20-μm filter for colony counts. Results: No infected connector transferred bacteria to the fluid path, regardless of the challenge procedure or the strain used. Conclusions: Our results show that the new PD connector may fully obviate the risk of bacterial infection, even in the presence of heavy contamination. Further studies are in progress to test our PD connector in a clinical setting.