Over 80% of all intensive care patients treated with an indwelling urinary tract catheter throughout their hospital stay had catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CA-UTIs). Also, within the first 30 days of hospitalization, the incidence of CA-UTIs exceeds 100%. This happens to 3%–10% of patients receiving catheterization each day.
What you will learn
- Different types of catheters and their uses
- Materials, designs, and sizes of various catheters
- Proper hand hygiene techniques
- Signs and symptoms of infection and appropriate response measures
- Correct procedure for cleaning catheters
- Rationale behind specific catheter care practices
- Significance of perineal care
- Proper techniques for providing perineal care
- Common problems associated with catheter use
Details
Course length: 45 minutes. CME: 0.75
Languages: American English
Key features: Audio narration, learning activity, and post-assessment.
American Medical Compliance is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing education to physicians. Our Continuing Medical Education (CME) program is committed to enhancing the knowledge, skills, and professional performance of healthcare providers to improve healthcare outcomes. Through high-quality educational activities, we aim to address the identified educational gaps to support the continuous professional development of our medical community. American Medical Compliance designates this activity for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 0.75 Credits. Physicians should only claim this credit for their complete participation in this activity.
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When to Perform a Urinary Catheterization
Unless medically essential, urinary catheterization should be avoided. But when catheters are used, they should be removed right away. However, bladder outlet obstruction, acute urine retention, neurogenic bladder, and pelvic surgery are among the medical indications for urinary catheter implantation.
Additionally, patients who are female and have diabetes mellitus, are malnourished, have chronic kidney disease, or have compromised immune systems are more susceptible to CA-UTIs. Patients who have CA-UTIs frequently also have no symptoms at all and do not exhibit the “classic” symptoms.
Moreover, an asymptomatic UTI is defined by a urine culture of 105 colony-forming units (cfu)/mL of bacteria from a single isolated pathogen in the absence of fever and suprapubic or costovertebral angle discomfort. When a patient with an indwelling urinary catheter develops unexplained systemic symptoms, a urine culture is recommended.
What is Perineal Care?
Perineal care is the cleansing of perineal area (genital/anal area). Additionally, perineal care is needed for bedridden patients, if they are incontinent, and for those with an indwelling catheter. This type of care is also important in preventing the breakdown of skin and helps with avoiding itching, odor, burning, and infections. In addition, providers should perform at least once daily if necessary.
Perineal care also helps with maintaining hygienic practices. Skin problems are more likely in those who have difficulty managing their urine or bowels (called incontinence). The skin around the buttocks, hips, genitals, and between the pelvis and rectum (perineum) is the most affected. Furthermore, excess moisture in these regions increases the likelihood of skin disorders such as redness, peeling, irritation, and yeast infections.
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