Incidence and duration of urinary catheters in hospitalized older adults: before and after implementing a geriatric protocol.
This study examined the incidence and duration of urinary catheters in acute care older adults before and after the implementation of a protocol developed to make clinicians aware of the appropriate use of catheters and the parameters for catheter removal. A total of 187 patients (99 pre-intervention, 88 post-intervention) age 65 and older admitted to a community hospital were assessed for the insertion of an indwelling urinary catheter using retrospective record review. A significant reduction was found in the incidence of indwelling urinary catheters in the post-intervention sample (from 33% to 15.3%, p = 0.006). There was a 20.4% reduction in the mean duration of urinary catheterization (from 4.9 days to 3.9 days). The catheter device-days were significantly reduced (from 136 to 44, p < 0.000). This study supports the use of a nurse-driven protocol to reduce the incidence of catheterization and improve the quality of care for hospitalized older adults.
Voss
Annmarie Brennan
AB
Aurora Health Care, St. Luke's Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI 53201-2900, USA. ann.marie.voss@aurora.org
D000368:Aged; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D014546:Urinary Catheterization