Urinary catheter policies for short-term bladder drainage in adults

The most common catheterisation technique for bladder drainage during hospital care is indwelling urethral catheterisation, i.e. putting the catheter through the urethra into the bladder and leaving it there for a few days. Alternatives are suprapubic and intermittent urethral catheterisation. Urinary tract infection is a common complication, which prolong hospital stay, cause unpleasant symptoms such as fever and chills, and sometimes may threaten life by causing septic shock. The review found that inserting the catheter through the abdomen 'suprapubically,' or not leaving a urethral catheter in the bladder but using a catheter intermittently, both reduced the chances of infection. In making a choice, these advantages should be set against possible disadvantages such as injury caused during suprapubic catheter insertion. There was no information about possible complications or adverse effects during catheter insertion. A limitation of the trials was the uncertainty of the clinical significance of bacteriuria.