UTIs reduced by focusing on catheter use in the OR

Editor's Note

Surgical teams at Northwesterm Memorial Hospital in Chicago are decreasing the rate of urinary tract infections by focusing on the use of catheters before and immediately after surgical procedures.

A process improvement program reduced the number of UTIs associated with catheters placed in patients in the OR from 2.0 to 0.4 per month over a period of 5 months. In 3 of those months, there were zero infections.

The program also reversed trends in catheterization—from catheterizing 67% of surgical patients to 45%. The percentage of catheters that were removed immediately after the procedure increased from 22% to 28%.

The study was presented at the 2015 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) Conference.

New study focuses on process improvement in surgical catheter management to change the clinical culture in a major teaching hospital NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CHICAGO (July 26, 2015-4 pm CT): Surgical teams at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, are decreasing the rate of urinary tract infection (UTI) in their institution by paying scrupulous attention to the use of catheters before and immediately after operations.