Table 1.

Comparison of catheter material characteristics

	Polyurethane	Silicone	Polyethylene	Teflon®
Biocompatiblity	Excellent	Excellent	Fair	Fair
Stiffness	Softens in body	Soft	Stiff	Stiff
Ease of insertion	Difficult	Fair	Easy	Easy
Ease of modifying	Fair	Easy	Difficult	Difficult
Tensile strength	Excellent	Fair	Excellent	Excellent
Flexibility	Fair	Excellent	Poor	Poor
Coefficient of friction	Excellent	Fair	Good	Excellent
Infection rate	Low	Fair	High	High