OBJECTIVES To describe the frequency and duration of perioperative catheter use and to determine the relationship between catheter use and postoperative outcomes. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Two thousand nine hundred sixty-five acute care US hospitals. PATIENTS Medicare inpatients (N = 35 904) undergoing major surgery (coronary artery bypass and other open-chest cardiac ope...

To cite: Meddings J. BMJ Qual Saf 2013;22:967–971. In most hospitals, four steps are required to remove a urinary catheter: the physician recognises the patient has a catheter in place; the physician realises the catheter is no longer necessary; the order is written to remove the catheter; and the nurse removes the catheter. Interventions to prompt removal of unnecessary urinary catheters by ex...

With a share of 22.4%, nosocomial urinary tract infections (nUTIs) are among the most frequent infections acquired in hospitals, along with surgical site infections (24.7%), pneumonia (21.5%), clostridium difficile infections (6.6%) and primary sepsis (6%) 1. 80% of all nUTIs are associated with indwelling urinary catheters, with 12-16% of all hospitalised patients and up to 81.8% of all intens...

OBJECTIVES This study presents a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing hydrophilic coated to uncoated catheters for patients performing urinary intermittent catheterisation. A national budget impact analysis is also included to evaluate the impact of intermittent catheterisation for management of bladder dysfunctions over a period of 5 years. DESIGN A Markov model (lifetime horizon, 1 year cy...

Up to 100% of patients treated with epidural analgesia can experience urinary retention, which may be related to dermatomal level of the epidural block, epidural medication, and surgical procedure. This study was designed to identify the incidence of urinary retention in patients who receive thoracic patient-controlled epidural analgesia (TPCEA) after thoracotomy. Forty-nine patients were enrol...

Urinary catheters often become encrusted and blocked by crystalline Proteus mirabilis biofilms. Results of experiments in a laboratory model of a Foley catheterised bladder infected with P mirabilis showed that when retention balloons were inflated with a solution of triclosan (10 g/L), the catheters drained freely for at least 7 days. Triclosan became impregnated throughout the silicone cathet...

BACKGROUND Urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for 30% to 40% of nosocomial infections resulting in morbidity, mortality, and increased length of hospital stay. OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of a silver-alloy, hydrogel-coated latex urinary catheter for the prevention of nosocomial catheter-associated UTIs. METHODS A 12-month randomized crossover trial compared rates of nosocomial cat...

We present a case of refractory hemorrhagic radiation cystitis in a patient who failed conservative management and was unable to undergo operative urinary diversion secondary to multiple comorbidities. His management was complicated by recurrent obstruction of his nephrostomy catheters due to marked ureteral thrombus formation from blood refluxing into the ureters from the urinary bladder. We w...

Approximately 450 000 people use long-term urinary catheters in the UK. Permanent catheters are used by 3% of the community population and occupy an estimated 4% of a district nurse's caseload in the UK. Catheterisation is defined as 'drainage or aspiration of the bladder or urinary reservoir' and can be intermittent or indwelling. Long-term indwelling catheterisation can be transurethral or su...