The use of urinary catheters among hospitalized patients is common. Urinary catheter use is associated with preventable harm such as, catheter-associated urinary tract infection, sepsis, and delirium. Guidelines support routine assessment of the indications for urinary catheters and minimizing their duration of use. Appropriate indications include acute urinary obstruction, critical illness and end-of-life care. Strategies that reduce inappropriate use of urinary catheters have been shown to reduce health care associated infections.
Sources:
Colli J, et al. National trends in hospitalization from indwelling urinary catheter complications, 2001-2010. Int Urol Nephrol. 2014 Feb;46(2):303-8. PMID: 23934618.
Hooton TM, et al. Diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of catheter-associated urinary tract infection in adults: 2009 International Clinical Practice Guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis. 2010 Mar 1;50(5):625-63. PMID: 20175247.
Jain P, et al. Overuse of the indwelling urinary tract catheter in hospitalized medical patients. Arch Intern Med. 1995 Jul 10;155(13):1425-9. PMID: 7794092.
Landrigan CP, et al. Temporal trends in rates of patient harm resulting from medical care. N Engl J Med. 2010 Nov 25;363(22):2124-34. PMID: 21105794.
Lo E, et al. Strategies to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections in acute care hospitals: 2014 update. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2014 May;35(5):464-79. PMID: 24709715.
Miller BL, et al. A multimodal intervention to reduce urinary catheter use and associated infection at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2013 Jun;34(6):631-3. PMID: 23651896.
O’Mahony R, et al. Synopsis of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guideline for prevention of delirium. Ann Intern Med. 2011 Jun 7;154(11):746-51. PMID: 21646557.
Ramanathan R, et al. Urinary tract infections in surgical patients. Surg Clin North Am. 2014 Dec;94(6):1351-68. PMID: 25440128.
Related Resources:
Patient Pamphlet: Preventing Infections in the Hospital: Watch out for these two practices
Toolkit: Lose the Tube – A toolkit for appropriate use of urinary catheters in hospitals