Hospitals Lag in Preventing Infection

Forty percent of U.S. hospital-acquired infections are urinary tract infections, but less than 10 percent of hospitals have an approach to reduce UTIs.

A study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found most hospitals aren’t using basic tactics to keep patients from getting catheter-related UTIs and nearly one-third of hospitals don’t track UTI rates.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System and the Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System found nearly half of hospitals lack a system to tell which patients currently have a catheter, and three-quarters lack a system that tracks how long a patient has had a catheter or whether one has been removed.

The survey asked about practices used to prevent hospital-acquired UTIs including: the use of catheters coated with anti-microbial agents that inhibit bacterial growth; the use of condom-style catheters that reduce the risk of bacteria entering the urethra; the use of anti-microbial agents in drainage bags that collect urine; and the use of portable ultrasound bladder scanners to see if patients’ bladders were being emptied without a catheter.

Lead author Dr. Sanjay Saint said less than one-third of hospitals used bladder scanners and anti-microbial catheters, the most common methods to reduce UTIs.

For hospitalized patients, if you have a catheter, ask the doctor or nurse every day if you really still need it, Saint said in a statement.