Complementary mass spectrometric approaches and scanning electron microscopy to study the structural stability of polyurethane tunneled dialysis catheters after exposure to ethanol solutions.

Rationale: Ethanol lock is an emerging therapeutic option for preventing and/or controlling catheter-associated infection. A previous study of silicone catheters showed they underwent no polymer degradation when kept in 60% ethanol for 15 days at 37 °C. The stability of the more widely used polyurethane catheters was studied here in the same way.