A nursing trial of urinary sheath systems on male hospitalized patients

An investigation was carried out on six hospitalized elderly male urinary incontinent patients for 21 days to test three urinary sheath systems by means of a quasi-experimental trial, incorporating crossover. Observations were made, and recorded, of detachment or leakage in systems and of skin condition round the shaft of the penis. Results suggest that two of the systems differ significantly in their performance and that performance of the urinary sheath was probably the limiting factor in overall performance. Incidence of skin problems, and other problems within systems, were minimal. It was also observed that patients differ significantly in their suitability for the application of sheath systems. This observation was made at two time intervals. A further line of investigation is suggested to test the effect of components, other than sheaths, on performance of systems.