Urinary catheterization from 1997 to 2018: a Dutch population-based cohort

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Public Health
• Medical Device Utilization

Background:

• Examined urinary catheter use patterns in the Netherlands between 1997 and 2018.
• Focused on indwelling, intermittent, and external urinary catheters for neurogenic and non-neurogenic bladder conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate trends in urinary catheter utilization and associated costs.
• To understand the demographic drivers of catheter use in the Dutch population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized population-based cohort data on medical device usage in the insured population.
• Analyzed user numbers per 100,000 people and total expenditures, adjusted for inflation and population changes.

Main Results:

• Indwelling catheter (IC) users doubled, and clean intermittent catheter (CIC) users tripled over 21 years.
• Total expenditure on urinary catheters rose from €27.7 million to €84.4 million, with CIC costs increasing significantly.
• Neurogenic and non-neurogenic bladder conditions accounted for a substantial portion of users.

Conclusions:

• Both IC and CIC use have substantially increased, driven by rising incontinence care needs in older adults and guideline adoptions.
• A significant proportion of users, at least one-fifth, require catheterization due to neurogenic bladder issues.