The chances of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) increases 6-20 folds when an endotracheal tube (ETT) is placed in a patient. VAP is one of the most common hospital-acquired infections and comprises 86% of the nosocomial pneumonia cases. This study introduces the idea of nitric oxide-releasing ETTs (NORel-ETTs) fabricated by the incorporation of the nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) into commercially available ETTs via solvent swelling. The impregnation of SNAP provides NO release over a 7-day period without altering the mechanical properties of the ETT. The NORel-ETTs successfully reduced the bacterial infection from a commonly found pathogen in VAP, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, by 92.72 ± 0.97% when compared with the control ETTs. Overall, this study presents the incorporation of the active release of a bactericidal agent in ETTs as an efficient strategy to prevent the risk of VAP.
Keywords: S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine; antimicrobial; endotracheal tubes; nitric oxide; ventilator-associated pneumonia.
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