Safe duration of silicon catheter replacement in urological patients
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ghana Medical Journal
Abstract
Objectives: This study compared the infection rates, degree of encrustation, symptoms, and complications in patients
regarding the duration of urethral catheterisation (three weeks, six weeks, and eight weeks).
Design: A cross-sectional study with stratified simple random sampling
Setting: Urology Unit, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital
Participants: One hundred and thirty-seven male patients with long-term urinary catheters
Interventions: Participants were grouped into 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 8 weeks duration of catheter replacements
Primary outcomes measures: Symptoms due to the urinary catheters, urinalysis, urine and catheter tip cultures,
sensitivity, and catheter encrustations were assessed.
Results: Eighty-six patients had a primary diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), 35 had urethral stric tures,13 had prostate cancer, two had BPH and urethral strictures, and one participant had bladder cancer. There was
no difference in the symptoms the participants in the different groups experienced due to the urinary catheters (p >
0.05). The frequency of occurrence of complications (pyuria, p = 0.784; blocked catheter, p=0.097; urethral bleeding,
p=0.148; epididymo-orchitis, p=0.769 and bladder spasms, p=1.000) showed no differences in the three groups. There
was no statistical difference in the urinalysis for the three groups (p>0.05) and the degree of encrustations (3 weeks:
0.03 ± 0.06, 6 weeks: 0.11±0.27 and eight weeks: 0.12 ±0.27) with p=0.065.
Conclusions: In this study, the duration of urinary catheterisation using silicone Foley’s catheters did not influence
the complication and symptom rates; hence silicon catheters can be placed in situ for up to 8 weeks before replacement
instead of the traditional three-weekly change.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Urinary catheterisation, biofilms, encrustations