Effect of a Female External Urinary Catheter on Incidence of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection

Jillian Zavodnick; Caitlin Harley; Kelly Zabriskie; Yasmin Brahmbhatt

doi:10.7759/cureus.11113

Effect of a Female External Urinary Catheter on Incidence of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection

Cureus. 2020 Oct 23;12(10):e11113. doi: 10.7759/cureus.11113.

Authors

Jillian Zavodnick¹, Caitlin Harley², Kelly Zabriskie³, Yasmin Brahmbhatt¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA.
² Department of Nursing, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA.
³ Department of Infection Control, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA.

Abstract

Background Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) can be fatal, and are a source of avoidable expense for patients and hospitals. Prolonged catheterization increases infection risk, and avoiding catheters is crucial for infection prevention. Male external urinary catheters are recommended as a tool to prevent the need for indwelling catheterization. Female external urinary catheters (FEUCs) have intermittently been marketed without wide adoption; one has recently become available but published data is limited. Objective This retrospective observational study was conducted to investigate the effect of FEUCs on indwelling catheter use and female CAUTIs. Methods FEUCs were introduced to intensive care units. CAUTI rates and indwelling catheter days were obtained before and after the introduction of the devices. Results CAUTI rates decreased from 3.14 per 1000 catheter days to 1.42 per 1000 catheter days (p=0.013). Female indwelling catheter days decreased, while overall intensive care patient days increased. Conclusions Introduction of a FEUC was associated with a statistically significant decrease in CAUTI rate among female intensive care patients. The FEUC may prevent the need for indwelling catheters in some situations.

Keywords: cauti; cauti prevention; external urinary catheter; female external urinary catheter; hospital acquired infection; infection control; nosocomial infection.