What is a catheter-associated urinary tract infection?
The urinary tract refers to the organs that produce, store, and excrete urine. These organs include the kidneys, ureters, urethra, and bladder. A urinary catheter is a thin tube placed in the bladder to drain urine. This may be necessary for various medical reasons. Infections can be caused when germs travel along or around the catheter and enter the urinary tract. A catheter-associated urinary tract infection is when a patient has a urinary catheter left within their body for an extended period, also called indwelling, and develops a urinary tract infection.
Our data:
Each day that a patient has an indwelling urinary catheter in place counts as one catheter line day. We measure the number of catheter-associated urinary tract infections per 1,000 catheter line days.
What we are doing to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections
- Reviewing every day whether each patient with a urinary catheter still needs one.
- Removing urinary catheters when patients no longer need them.
- Following evidence-based best practices for inserting and maintaining urinary catheters to help prevent infection.
- Reviewing compliance measures for preventing infection such as the use of a closed drainage system, routine hygiene care, placing a bag below the level of the bladder, and ensuring urine in the tubing flows freely into the bag.
- Participating in Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS), a national improvement collaborative among children’s hospitals, that focuses on reducing patient harm by sharing ideas, data, and best practices.
What can families do to help prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections?
- Make sure that all health care team members clean their hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer before and after providing care for your child.
- Ask your child’s medical team if your child still needs a urinary catheter. If so, ask when it can be removed.
