Usefulness of Urinary Catheterization in Patients Admitted to Infectious Ward of Sina Hospital, Tabriz, Iran

Urinary catheterization is one of most common practices in medical centers and hospitals. Despite the advantages of catheterization, it might cause serious complications such as trauma, urinary tract infection and urinary incontinence. Therefore, improper insertion of the catheter is not only useless, but may also cause morbidity and mortality, cost of diagnosis and treatment and waste of time. In the retrospective study conducted during 2013 to 2014, all hospitalized patients in Infectious Disease ward of Sina hospital in Tabriz were examined and information in respective checklists was recorded. Finally data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software. Among the 723 patients, 94 (13%) who had undergone catheterization. Twenty-five patients who were catheterized before referring to emergency were excluded. Finally, 69 patients (9.5%) were studied. The mean age was 21.85 ± 65.39. Forty-seven patients (68.1%) were catheterized. Twenty-two patients (31.9%) were improperly catheterized. Causes of improper catheterization were: to make nursing easier and patient care with 9 people (40.9%), medical failure with 8 people (36.4%) and taking urine samples with 5 people (22.7%). Thirty percent of patients had complications such as hematuria, urinary incontinence and urinary tract infection. None of the study variables were significantly associated with improper catheterization (P <. 05). Despite the usefulness of insertion of urinary catheter, it is associated with adverse events. Improper catheter increases the risk of complications. About 1/3 of patients in Infectious Disease ward of Sina hospital in Tabriz were improperly catheterized and 30% faced complications.