Treatment, Management and Prevention of Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infection

Abstract

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most commonly occurring nosocomial infection worldwide, accounting for approximately 40% of all hospital acquired infections. A lot of hospitalized patients undergo insertion of a urinary catheter at some time during their hospital days, and the use of indwelling urinary catheters appears to be increasing. And 80% of urinary tract infection is related to urinary catheterization. Unfortunately, many physicians don' t know about appropriate indications for use of indwelling urethral catheters as well as accurate criteria of CAUTI. Therefore, these could result in a potential source of CAUTI, leading to unnecessary use of antibiotics for treatment of asympk)matic bacteriuria, inducing of resistant organisms. Most CAUTI are derived from the patient's own colonic flora and the catheter predisposes to UTI in several ways. The most important risk factor for the development of CAUTI is the duration of catheterization. The clinician should be aware of two priorities： the catheter system should remain closed and the duration of catheterization should be minimal. While the catheter is in place, systemic antimicrobial treatment of asymptomatic catheter-associated bacteriuria is not recommended, except for some special cases.