Use of lubricant in female urethral catheterization

Urethral catheterization is a commonly undertaken nursing procedure, with up to 12.6% of hospitalized and 4% of community patients having indwelling urethral catheters (Rew and Woodward, 2001). It is well known that this is often a procedure that can cause physical trauma to the urethra and can be painful for the patient and a recent systematic review identified that urethral trauma and discomfort could be minimized by using a sterile-use lubricant or anaesthetic gel (Department of Health, 2001). This article will consider the use of lubricants for female urethral catheterization.