For the patients with urinary incontinence, there are some specifics of using different catheters while patients are in acute care settings. In adult patients, intermittent urinary catheters of groups P, C, O, and I are used for different purposes, and there is a tendency that the introduction of such classification is one of the reasons they help to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections more efficiently than indwelling urinary catheters.
In the light of recent developments in the sphere of preventing urinary infections, It is also important to point out the fact that since 2009, there are special guidelines concerning nursing care of patients suffering from catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in acute care settings. The guidelines mostly rely on the policy of removing intermittent or condom catheters as soon as possible, as well as taking urine samples every 48 hours after a catheter was placed. Naturally, in order to prevent infections, intermittent catheters should only be placed when there is an urgent medical necessity, indwelling catheters are not to be used at all, and antibiotics administration is an important preventive measure. Naturally, the objective of current medical practice, in such circumstances, is to ensure that only the alternatives of indwelling catheters remain in use.
Thus, on one hand, the concern for the incidence of CAUTI is still significant among medical researchers and practitioners. However, on the other hand, healthcare institutions introduce dissimilar standards of policies related to catheters replacement and administration in order to make their practice more cost-efficient. Nevertheless, implementing common guidelines and dismissing practices that can lead to an increase in infection incidence rates would result in cost savings for those institutions. Moreover, such measures will help to provide better screening for the risks of catheter-related infections, which would improve the quality of health care in general.
References
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