Maintenance of indwelling urinary catheters with a novel polyhexanide-based solution: user experience.

HEALTH; MEDICAL appointments; MEDICAL care costs; NURSES' attitudes; ODORS; PAIN; POLYMERS; QUALITY of life; RESEARCH funding; SOLUTION (Chemistry); TIME; RETROSPECTIVE studies; URINARY catheters; PATIENTS' attitudes; ADVERSE health care events; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; CATHETER-associated urinary tract infections

Background: Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) can significantly affect patients' quality of life and increase healthcare costs. Aims: This study aimed to capture patients' and nurses' experience of catheter maintenance using a polyhexanide-based solution (PS) in everyday practice. Methods: Retrospective analysis of data was collected for a product evaluation. PS was used twice a week for five weeks. Findings: The study included 42 patients, 30 (71%) men and 12 women (29%). After five weeks of rinsing catheters with PS, nine patients reported no or decreased frequency of CAUTI, eight a better quality of life, eight reduced blockage, seven a decrease in odour and five fewer catheter changes. Three patients reported no benefit from PS use. Nurses reported that fewer visits were needed and consumption of disposables was lower. Conclusions: User experiences suggest that, as a novel means of catheter maintenance, PS has the potential to reduce catheter-associated complications such as CAUTI, improve quality of life and reduce healthcare costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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