genitourinary disorders
Bladder Catheterization
Urethral catheterization
A urethral catheter can be inserted by any health care practitioner and sometimes by patients themselves. The bladder is catheterized through the urethra unless the urethral route is contraindicated. Relative contraindicationsare the following: Urethral Stricture None Current Introduction to Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) (UTI) Urethral reconstruction, prostate surgery, or bladder surgery Urethral Trauma None gel may be injected through the male urethra before the catheter is passed to help relieve discomfort. (See also How To Do Urethral Catheterization in a Female and Complicationsof bladder catheterization include all of the following: Urethral or bladder trauma with bleeding or microscopic hematuria (common) UTI (common) Creation of false passages Scarring and strictures Bladder perforation (rare) Paraphimosis in uncircumcised males if the foreskin is not repositioned Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections tend to increase morbidity, mortality, health care costs, and hospital length of stay. They are the most common health care–associated infections reported to the national Healthcare Safety Network and have been a focus of improvement for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ( Restricting the use of urethral catheterization to indications that are clearly medically necessary (eg, not solely to minimize the number of bedside visits by health care providers made to empty urinals) Removing catheters as soon as possible Using strictly aseptic technique during catheter insertion Maintaining sterility and closure of the drainage system 