[Renal functions of the patients with long-term catheterization in upper urinary tract]

In order to investigate long-term effects of indwelling urinary catheters on renal functions, in 46 patients (27 male and 19 female) with ureterostomy or nephrostomy serum creatinine values were measured periodically. Average age of the patients was 60.6 years old. Duration of catheterization was more than 3 years (average 8.1 years). Renal dysfunction was defined as an elevation of serum creatinine more than 2 mg/dl. It was found that catheterization used more than 15 years evoked renal insufficiency over 50% of such patients. This period, however, was shorten to 11 years in patients with nephrolithiasis or frequent fever. It was concluded that urolithiasis and symptomatic urinary tract infections were two remarkable risk factors for the deterioration of renal functions, and that these risk factors must be avoided in patients on long-term catheterization in the upper urinary tract.