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An In Vitro Bladder Model of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection
Published on: June 24, 2025
[Factors Associated With Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Patients in the Intensive Care Unit]
1MSN, RN, Department of Nursing, Pingtung Christian Hospital, Taiwan, ROC.
Insights
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) are common in ICUs. Female patients, those with diabetes, and longer catheter use duration increase CAUTI risk.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Critical Care Medicine
- Urology
Context:
- Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is a significant healthcare concern in intensive care units (ICUs).
- CAUTI contributes to extended hospital stays, increased medical expenses, and elevated morbidity and mortality rates.
Purpose:
- To identify factors associated with the development of CAUTI in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
Summary:
- A secondary analysis of 1,120 ICU patients revealed a 29.5% CAUTI prevalence.
- Risk factors for CAUTI included female sex, diabetes, larger catheter size, prolonged catheterization (average 6.55 days), and inability to remove the catheter during ICU stay.
- Logistic regression identified these factors as significantly increasing CAUTI risk.
Impact:
- Findings highlight that women and diabetic patients are particularly susceptible to CAUTI.
- Clinical practice should emphasize cautious urinary catheter use, consider smaller catheter sizes, and minimize catheterization duration.
- Implementing these strategies can reduce CAUTI incidence and improve overall healthcare quality.
Background:
Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) commonly occurs in intensive care units (ICU) and is associated with longer hospital stays and higher healthcare costs, morbidity, and mortality.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to examine the factors associated with CAUTI in ICU patients.
Methods:
This study was a secondary analysis of data from a study on the usage of indwelling catheters in adult internal and surgical ICU patients at a teaching hospital in southern Taiwan conducted between January 1 and December 31, 2017. Descriptive analysis, the independent t test, chi-square test, and logistic regression were used to examine the factors associated with CAUTI.
Results:
Of the 1,120 patients with an indwelling urinary catheter in the ICU, 330 revealed a positive urine culture result, indicating a 29.5% prevalence of CAUTI. The average duration of indwelling urinary catheter usage was 6.55 (SD = 4.89) days. The participants averaged 69.93 years old (SD = 15.19 years), and 627 (56.0%) were men and 493 (44.0%) were women. Being female, having diabetes, having a large indwelling urinary catheter, having a longer duration of indwelling urinary catheter usage, and being unable to remove the indwelling urinary catheter during the ICU stay were found to be associated with a significantly higher risk of CAUTI.
Conclusions / Implications For Practice:
Women and patients with diabetes are particularly vulnerable to CAUTI. Thus, urinary catheters should be used with caution. Using smaller-sized urinary catheters and reducing the duration of urinary catheter use are suggested. The results of this study may be used to guide clinical practice to help reduce the incidence of CAUTI and enhance overall healthcare service quality.
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