Changing Catheter Styles

The urinary catheter is one of the least popular aspects of a hospital stay for men. And the devices are often pathways for urinary-tract infections.

But there is an alternative for many men – an external, or sheath-type, device. A recent study comparing outcomes between patients using the different types of catheter at a Veterans Affairs health center in Seattle found that men using the external, condom-type catheters had an 80 percent lower risk of developing a urinary-tract infection than men using traditional, indwelling catheters.

Ninety percent of men using the external devices reported they were comfortable with them, compared with 58 percent who used the traditional catheter.

Dr. Sanjay Saint, lead author of the study published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, noted that about 25 percent of hospitalized male and female patients require a catheter, and that most male patients can use the external devices, as long as the patients are not mentally impaired or have a medical condition, such as a urinary-tract blockage, that mandates use of the internal device.

“The only drawback is that we don’t yet have an external device for women that works well,” said Saint, who is director of the patient-safety enhancement program and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor.

News Courtesy : nashuatelegraph.com