Essay
How to prevent UTI‘s during catheterisation
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- University Of Leeds (UoL)
Essay, including references in Harvard style, on how uti‘s are prevented during catheterisation
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How to prevent urinary tract infections during catheterisationCatheterisation is a significant medical procedure involving the use of a thin, flexible tube
known as a catheter. The catheter is inserted into a cavity, vessel or duct of the patient's
body. A key example would be urinary catheterisation, this involves a catheter being inserted
into the bladder of a patient via the urethra. There are two classifications of urinary
catheters. Firstly, intermittent catheters. These are inserted countless times a day through
the urethra and into the bladder until the urine has stopped flowing. Furthermore, there are
indwelling catheters which are used during long term catheterisation as the catheter is held
in the bladder for at least 3 months. Urinary catheterisation has vital medical purposes, such
as, emptying the bladder, enabling urine collection for sampling and also to relieve bladder
distension caused by urinary retention. Thus, displaying numerous medical benefits towards
patients within hospitals. Although, urinary catheterisation is a prime cause of urinary tract
infections, approximately 75% of hospital acquired UTIs are correlated to urinary catheters.
As the catheter is a foreign object, when inserted into the patient it disrupts the natural
bacteria balance in the tract by introducing harmful bacteria. It's important to state that when
the catheter is inserted, it avoids the patient's pathogen defence mechanisms, thus assisting
pathogen and bacterium entry into the urinary tract. In addition to this, prolonged use of
catheters enables a sufficient breeding ground for bacteria to develop and multiply.
Therefore, resulting in infection. However, there are crucial preventative methods put in
place to prevent UTIs from afflicting.
The first method to prevent urinary tract infections from catheterisation would be the use of
aseptic techniques. Following the AST guidelines ensures sufficient aseptic techniques are
carried out. Such as, wearing sterile gloves. The medical professional performing the
catheterisation would wear sterile gloves as it creates a barrier between the patient and the
professional's hands, thus preventing cross-contamination of microorganisms to either the
patient or health worker. Thus, reducing infection, as well as, transmission of
microorganisms. Additionally, executing antiseptic cleansing is a vital aseptic technique. For
example, the use of chlorhexidine, an effective disinfectant to prevent UTIs from developing.
It’s used before catheter insertion, in order to clean the urethral meatus before the catheter
is inserted into the patient. It works by inhibiting the growth, as well as, killing the bacteria
present on the surface of the meatus. Therefore, with less bacteria present, less bacteria
enters into the tract, reducing the likelihood of infection. Moreover, utilising single use
lubricant jelly reduces the likelihood of urinary tract infections developing in the patient. As
well as enabling smooth insertion of the catheter, single use jelly packets are much less
likely to get contaminated and exposed to microorganisms and bacteria present. Therefore,
aiding towards preventing the probability of UTI’s developing during urinary catheterisation.
Moreover, ensuring there is a closed drainage system put in place during the catheterisation
decreases the risk of UTIs. Here, the urine must be collected in a closed, sterile container
rather than being directly drained into an open environment, whereby micro-organisms in the
air can easily contaminate and cause infection. To set this system up, the catheter is inserted
into the urinary bladder and connected via tubing to a drainage bag. The catheter must be
connected to the drainage bag via a sealed catheter tubing junction. To further prevent
contamination during catheterisation, the drainage bag should be maintained below the level
of the bladder as this ensures contamination from the drainage tap is avoided completely.
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