There are numerous current prevention and improvement initiatives taking place in the health care system to reduce the occurrence of catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). Some of the most prominent interventions are to decrease the number of catheters being inserted and removing the catheters as quickly as possible. Stamford Hospital located in Connecticut, USA, implemented a CAUTI reduction project after noticing that education-based approaches and handwashing efforts had not decreased the incidence of CAUTIs. They implemented a nurse’s checklist for the justified use of catheters and timely removal of urinary catheters. They also added a specific catheter charting module in the electronic health record, and held biweekly …show more content…
In the past, Foley catheters remained in place, and the need to continue them was not addressed on a daily basis. But, with education and research this has changed. Education sessions offered in hospital settings and huddles, for example, are perfect opportunities for the nurses to identify patients with a Foley catheter on the unit and review strategies for decreasing infections (Clayton, 2017). Knowing when catheters are being useful and when they are becoming an issue and causing a problem is the key to identifying CAUTI’s. Preventing CAUTI’s begins with avoiding unnecessary use of urinary catheters, developing policies for insertion and maintenance of catheters, selecting the appropriate catheter, and instituting surveillance of CAUTIs and catheter use. Protocols to eliminate CAUTI’s will decrease their incidence and ensure better quality care (Clayton, 2017). This research found that out of 517 hospitals, 56% of them did not have a system to keep track of catheterized patients (Clayton, 2017). It was also found that 74% of the hospitals did not keep proper records of how long an indwelling catheter has been in a patient (Clayton, 2017). These flawed systems can be costly to patient safety and quality of care.
Improper education for health care workers is dangerous for patient care. The next study focused on working with educators to make sure nurses were properly educated on the proper care of urinary
Nurses lacked knowledge in the use and was unaware of the importance of the underlying evidence- base recommended criteria’s indicated on the nurse driven protocol to remove inappropriate UC’s. A nurse driven indwelling catheter removal protocol is an evidence base tool recommended by infection control organization and experts for the early removal of unnecessary or inappropriately placed urinary catheters (UC). Evidence shows that urinary catheters are the source of catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). CAUTI, is the leading cause of hospital acquired infections in the United States. The purpose of this evidence-based quality project is to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention on the importance and use of the nurse driven protocol on nurses ' knowledge and CAUTI rates.
1) Summary of Article: Indwelling catheter use is common, but so are infections associated with them. About 80 percent of all urinary tract infections in hospitals are caused by catheters, and about 20 percent of all hospital infections total are UTIs. Evidence-based practice should be used for insertion, maintenance, and removal. Catheters should not be left in longer than they need to be. Unfortunately, this research shows poor administrative efforts are to blame for
In 2013, a magnet recognized hospital, Baptist Health Lexington, reduced CAUTI rates in ICU patients by 60% (Roser, Piercy & Altpeter, 2014). The study included six interventions that were followed by the staff in the effort to reduce CAUTI. The six interventions included: “communication of CAUTI data to interdisciplinary teams, a nurse-driven, physician approved protocol, problem analysis using Lean principles, daily unit-based surveillance rounds, silver alloy urinary catheters, and an antimicrobial bundle comprised of two cleansing products for patients with an indwelling urinary catheter” (Roser, Piercy & Altpeter, 2014). The nurse-physician protocol allowed for nurses to assess whether the catheter was still necessary and if found not to be, the nurse could discontinue it. This resulted in a 58% decrease in the number of catheters used (Roser, Piercy & Altpeter, 2014). An education session was implemented by nurses using principles from the Lean system that checked the capability of nurses to understand just how dangerous CAUTI can be. It was found that no single intervention alone could reduce the occurrence of CAUTI development. Nurses must integrate several interventions to have an effective result at lowering the rates. However, this particular study found that after the use of the antimicrobial bundle, rates of CAUTI did decline. Roser et al. (2014) emphasized that education and awareness of
The nurse driven protocol was tested in 4 intensive care units. It included evidence-based orders for discontinuing, handling, and properly managing the catheters. One of the most important factors was the removal of the catheters in a timely manner. The data pre
Also another serious complication of CAUTI is BSI (Blood stream infections) that can be fatal if not caught and treated promptly. “The Clinical Performance of Quality Health Care, along with Joint Commission” offers standards and objectives for facilities to assess measure and improve their standards at the lowest cost possible. The database covers nursing care and education, along with guidelines on prevention. Moreover the JCAHO regulatory standards for catheterized patients are explained and the documentation that is expected when JCAHO inspections are rendered in a facility. The source “Stop orders to reduce inappropriate urinary catheterization in hospitalized patients” states that by following standard precautions with every patient these infections can be prevented. . Also the source explored whether catheters should be used at all in an effort to decrease the incidence of CAUTI’s. Intermittent catheterizations along with supra-pubic were explored with a decreased incidence of bacteria being present in the bladder afterwards. The source “Strategies to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections in acute care hospitals” offered ways of cleansing and disinfecting the skin before insertion to reduce the risk of infection. Many CAUTI’s are linked to bacteria harboring in or around the site at insertion. By using not only aseptic technique but also cleansing the skin with chlorhexadine can decrease he incidence of infection
The first step nurses can take to decrease the incidents of CAUTIs in older adults is avoiding unnecessary use of catheters altogether. Initially, this begins with nurses knowing both appropriate and inappropriate situations in which a catheter should be utilized. According to (Gould et al., 2017), an appropriate situation is one where a patient has acute urinary retention or bladder obstruction, whereas an inappropriate situation is one where a catheter is being used a means of obtaining urine for culture when the patient can voluntarily void. Nurses can also use basic techniques like palpation, percussion, and inspection to effectively assess urinary retention, which is the main reason for catheterization as mentioned earlier. When techniques like this do not achieve desired results,
National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs), established in 2002 by the Joint Commission, is to help accredited organizations address specific areas of concern in regard to patient safety ("Catheter-Associated," 2015). NPSG.07.06.01 Implement evidence-based practices to prevent indwelling catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) is a 2015 NPSG ("The Joint Commission," 2015). Our facility has 1.32 CAUTIs per 1000 device days (Carson, 2015). Decreasing CAUTIs can be achieved with a strict goal, addressing the financial implications, interdisciplinary collaboration, nursing leadership, a measurement tool, and discussing the future healthcare delivery methods.
Patient safety and hospital acquired infections (HAI) are deemed highly important in the health care setting. My organization uses quality indicators pulled from EPIC, which is our health information system, to ensure we are meeting regulations for catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). Data includes rates of infections, length of foley catheter placement, reasons for foley placement, as well as facility specific documentation that is used to aide in the prevention of CAUTI. By pulling this data, one could identify trends affecting rate of infections. This may lead to a change in policy or procedure that can improve the rate of infections for those patients with foley catheters. Thus decreasing the percentage of HAI’s for
The PICO question is as follows: In hospitalized patients who are susceptible to catheter associated Urinary Tract infection (CAUTI), if nurses and other assistive personnel develop an action plan with a systematic team approach of evidence-based infection control practices, compared to current practices, could it reduce or eliminate incidences of CAUTI?
The three questions addressed were: Who should receive urinary catheters, what are the best practices for those who require urinary catheters and for preventing CAUTI’s acquired from urinary obstruction. This updated guideline offers recommendations for the appropriate use of indwelling catheters utilizing appropriate indications for usage, proper techniques for insertion of indwelling catheters, proper techniques for indwelling catheter maintenance, quality improvement programs, administrative infrastructure and surveillance including identifying those at risk for CAUTI (Gould et al, 2009). The strengths of this guideline are that many questions and scenarios are examined in this document and answered in explicit detail. Any healthcare professional can refer to the document to answer most practice based questions that are posed to them regarding indwelling urinary catheters. One weakness identified is the lack of an alternative explored for the external catheterization for female patients, for example the Purewick solution. However, the Purewick was not released until January 2016 and this guideline was last updated in 2009. Integrative Review
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common nosocomial infection; accounting for up to 40% of infections reported by acute care hospitals. Up to 80% of UTIs are associated with the presence of an indwelling urinary catheter. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) represent the largest proportion of healthcare associated infections (HAI). Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) increases hospital cost and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality .CAUTIs are considered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to represent a reasonably preventable complication of hospitalization. As such, no additional payment is provided to hospitals for CAUTI treatment-related costs.CAUTIs can lead to
(2014) article “Reducing unnecessary urinary catheter use and other strategies to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection: An integrative review,” was published in the British Medical Journal Quality Safety. Meddings et al. (2014) conducted a systemic review and a meta-analysis in a hospital setting. Also, Meddings et al. (2014) report CAUTIs was reduced by 53%. The authors conclude UC reminders and stop orders appear to reduce UC use and CAUTIs.
The next step will focus on educating the unit’s staff. Employees that place an indwelling catheter will be required to go through a refresher course on proper insertion technique, indications for catheterization, and catheter care. Additionally, there will be a class on the new flow sheet created to track indwelling catheters (Andreessen et al., 2012). Posters with information pertaining to catheter care, CAUTI prevention, the new charting system, and alternative bladder management systems will be placed in highly visible areas such as break
Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is a fairly common complication in hospitalized patients. Nosocomial infection prevention and patient safety promotion has been issued and many researches have been conducted to improve patient’s quality of life. In this article, Saint et al. (2005) hypothesize that using a paper-based urinary catheter reminder can reduce the incidence of urinary catheterization, and consequently this will enhance the patients’ safety.
Carter, Pallin, Mandel, Sinnette and Schurr (2016) conducted a qualitative study to investigate the catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) reduction practices in the emergency department (ED). These researchers clearly identified that little is understood about ED workflow and ED-specific CAUTI prevention strategies. In an effort to better understand the flow, they enrolled EDs with CAUTI prevention strategies, so they can observe the motivations, risk factors and strategies to address those risks. This topic is very relevant to nursing, as today’s healthcare is in the midst of a paradigm shift and care has redirected its attention from quantity towards quality. Healthcare facilities, driven by better reimbursement from