title: Inappropriate use of urinary catheters and its common complications in different hospital wards.
abstract: Inappropriate use of indwelling urinary catheters (IUCs) and their related complications is one of the most important problems in hospital wards. The aim of this study was to evaluate inappropriate use of IUCs and their complications among patients in Tehran, Iran. Two hundred and six consecutive patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) as well as medical and surgical wards at the Shahid Mohammadi Hospital in Bandarabbas from September 1 to 30, 2005 and in whom IUCs were used, were studied. Data collected included age of the patients, diagnoses, reason for use of IUC and the complications related to it. Overall, 164 patients (79.6%) had IUCs used appropriately while 42 of them (20.6%) were catheterized unjustifiably. Inappropriate use of IUCs in the ICU, medical and surgical wards was reported in 12 (18.5%), 16 (19.0%) and 14 patients (24.6%), respectively. The most common complication of IUCs was urinary tract infection, which occurred in 91 patients (44.2%) and hematuria, which was seen in 3.9% of the patients. Our study suggests that inappropriate use of IUCs is prevalent, particularly in the surgical wards, and the most common complication observed was catheter-associated urinary tract infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Hormozgan, Iran. swt_f@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Parivash
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Davoodian
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nematee
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sheikhvatan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D055499:Catheter-Related Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006417:Hematuria / Q000209:etiology*; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007492:Iran; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013997:Time Factors; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000209:etiology*