Intermittent Self-catheterization in Older Adults: Predictors of Success for Technique Learning

The main goal of this retrospective study is to explore the predictors of success in learning clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) in patients over 65 years of age. The secondary goal is to assess whether in this population, the risk of failure to perform CISC is greater, compared with patients under 65 with similar pathologies.

All patients older than 65 consulting between January 2011 and January 2016 for learning CISC were included. A control population younger than 65 matching with sex, body mass index, and pathology was selected.

One hundred sixty-nine of the 202 patients (83.7%) over 65 succeeded in learning CISC. Obesity (P<0.05), low pencil and paper test (PP test) (P<0.01) and low functional independence measure (FIM) (P<0.01) scores were risk factors of failure. No significant differences were found with sex or pathology. In multivariate analysis, low PP test perineum access (odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 2.30 [1.32-4.42]), low FIM motor (1.04 [1.01-1.08]), and FIM cognition (1.18 [1.03-1.37]) scores were independent factors of learning failure. Compared to control group, age over 65 was not predictive of failure (P=0.15).

Our study shows that success in learning CISC does not depend on age but on difficulties in mobility, access to perineum and probably cognitive disorders.