Unitized disposable urethral catheter and specimen container.

Abstract

Significant laboratory examination of urine from the female requires that the specimen be collected by catheter in a clean container. Urine voided directly into a bottle or bedpan often contains foreign material, including epithelial cells, mucus, pus or blood from adjacent perineal areas, or extraneous substances from the collection container. While a negative voided specimen is significant, a positive one requires restudy of a catheterized specimen in order to determine the significance of the findings. Such duplication is timeconsuming and, therefore, costly. The method of catheterization of the bladder in the female most commonly used involves the use of a sterile rubber catheter to protect the patient from extraneous contamination, a rubber glove to handle the sterile catheter, and a suitable collection container. Each of these items must be reprocessed before each use. Since this takes time and is, from the labor stand-point, costly, and because the equipment tends to