Getting Started Kit: Prevent Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections: How-to-Guide

From the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the goal of this Improvement Map is to provide useful resources to prevent urinary tract infections.

There are numerous studies of methods to prevent and reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections, some of which date back several decades.

Over time, some recommendations have changed; for example, routine irrigation of catheters was once a recommended strategy, whereas now this is considered a practice to avoid. Thus it is essential for organizations to ensure that their policies and practices are consistent with the most current evidence-based recommendations.

This How-to Guide focuses on those recommendations with sufficient evidence to be uniformly recommended for all patients. Four components of care are recommended for all patients to prevent or reduce the risk of CA-UTI:
1. Avoid unnecessary urinary catheters.
2. Insert urinary catheters using aseptic technique.
3. Maintain urinary catheters based on recommended guidelines.
4. Review urinary catheter necessity daily and remove promptly.

http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Programs/ImprovementMap/PreventCatheterAssociatedUrinaryTractInfections.htm