[Prevalence of the use of urinary drainage systems in Spanish hospitals]

Urinary catheterization constitutes the main risk factor in urinary infections or nosocomial origin. The use of closed urinary drainage systems is fundamental to decrease this risk. The prevalence of the use of a urethral catheter as well as the proportion of closed type drainage systems in the Spanish medium was studied with the aim of improving the degree of the adoption of control measures for this type of infections.

The prevalence of patients submitted to urinary catheterization (distinguishing between open and closed systems) in an important sample of Spanish hospitals was determined from the data provided by the EPINE project (1990-1993). The evolution over 4 years in addition to distribution by hospitalization areas were studied. Likewise, the results corresponding to an intervention program carried out in the authors' hospital are presented.

The global prevalence of urinary catheterization ranges from 13.1% to 14.6%. The proportion of closed systems did not surpass 56.4% of the total with this system being completely implemented only in one fourth of the hospitals studied. A significant variation was not observed in this phenomenon during the study period. In the authors' hospital, the increase observed in the prevalence of closed urinary catheterization was associated to a marked decrease in the prevalence of urinary infection with values ranging from 4.3% to 0.8%.

The prevalence of the use of open type urinary catheterization in Spanish hospitals remains high. The efficacy of the implementation of control measures of the urinary drainage systems is clearly proved.