Effect of vancomycin and rifampicin on meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

Decolonisation of patients with urinary catheter colonization by meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is often difficult. Replacement of the catheter after prophylactic vancomycin administration has been one approach that is often unsuccessful in clinical practice. We suspected that formation of MRSA biofilms might account for the persistence of infection, and our study confirms this, also showing that MRSA is able to colonise a silastic rubber surface even in the presence of prophylactic vancomycin or rifampicin.