Urinary Catheters are Dangerous

1,700,000 people are afflicted with healthcare associated infections every year in the United States. 99,000 of those Americans die due to these mostly preventable infections.

Of the 1.7 million people infected secondary to their healthcare, 562,000 people are diagnosed with healthcare associated urinary tract infections (uti) annually. This represents 32% of all healthcare associated infections, making uti one of the most common hospital acquired conditions. Over 80% of these patients have had a urinary catheter that has preceded the infection.

The Centers for Disease Control [CDC] predicts that the rate of uti is 100% for hospital inpatients with an open indwelling urinary catheter for 4 days or more. Adherence to the proper asceptic precautions when inserting the catheter and maintenance of the closed system of drainage may reduce the infection rate to 25%. However, this risk is still high and it is important to use urinary catheters only when medically indicated.

The CDC recommends, “Urinary catheters should be inserted only when necessary and left in place only for as long as necessary. They should not be used solely for the convenience of patient-care personnel.” They further recommend, “For selected patients, other methods of urinary drainage such as condom catheter drainage, suprapubic catheterization, and intermittent urethral catheterization can be useful alternatives to indwelling urethral catheterization.”

Hand hygiene is also a major way to prevent catheter associated uti, and all healthcare associated infections for that matter! “Handwashing should be done immediately before and after any manipulation of the catheter site or apparatus, “ states the CDC.

Our first rule of thumb should be to abstain from the use of urinary catheters unless absolutely indicated for the proper treatment of our patients.

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