Abstract :
BACKGROUND: Silver/hydrogel (SC) urinary catheters have been shown to reduce the incidence of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).The impact of using the SC in combination with a novel bacteristatic safety collection system (BSC) has not been documented.
OBJECTIVE: Determine the clinical and financial impact of using the SC/BCS consisting of: a silver/hydrogel catheter, bacteriostatic drainage tube, bacteriostatic collection bag, microbicidal outlet tube, and a safety sample port.
METHODS: Retrospective rates of CAUTIs were known because monitoring of CAUTIs is part of the institutionʹs surveillance program. Use of the SC/BCS was instituted in July 2002. The facility utilized the SC/BCS housewide, and surveillance of CAUTIs continued for 2 years. Policies and procedures for insertion and care of Foley catheters were not modified.
RESULTS: There were 181 infections within 117,803 patient-days (1.54 CAUTIs per 1000 patient days) in the baseline period (July 2001–July 2002), 124 infections within 113,669 patient days (1.09 CAUTIs per 1000 patient days) during the first year, and there were 112 CAUTIs within 101,913 patient days (1.02 CAUTIs for the second year. There is a positive correlation (0.0940), between the three-year data with a probability of 0.2251, suggesting that use of SC/BCS decreases CAUTIs. Using the average cost for a CAUTI of $3803; a net savings of $258,604 was computed for the two-year period.
CONCLUSION: Use of the SC/BSC revealed a significant reduction in the incidence of CAUTIs. The hospital is committed to providing extraordinary care to the patients and now utilizes the SC/BCS as the standard practice of care
