Reducing unnecessary urinary catheter use Research Critique

, Krein, S. L. , Fakih, M. G. , Olmsted, R. S Dollars for every admission. It is on the basis of this problem that they reviewed studies to come up with recommendations for lowering the incidences of catheter-associated urinary tract infections that in essence could easily be avoided. The researchers begun the integrative review by updating the systematic review that had been conducted in the year 2012 on this topic. They then conducted an in-depth literature search and review of studies that had interventions that prompted the removal of urinary catheters through the utilization of stop orders for such catheters or reminders. A narrative review was also done to provide a summary of other interventions that aimed at preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infections that included insertion of catheters, maintenance of the catheter, use of antimicrobial catheters as prophylaxis, and implementation of bladder bundle.

Also, the researchers pointed out that catheter use was to be considered for clinical situations in which the life, survival of, and outcomes of care for the patient would completely rely on catheterization. However, in such cases, the duration of use should be limited to necessity and as soon as an alternative existed, the patient was to be put on the alternative. In their conclusion, the researchers indicated that numerous before-and-after studies had demonstrated that interventions aimed at lowering catheter placement that was inappropriate had produced a reduction in the use of catheters, a significant decrease in the use of catheters without strict orders from the physician, and unnecessary use of catheters. They also indicated that meta-analyses had demonstrated that catheter-associated urinary tract infections could be minimized by up to 53 percent through utilization of either stop orders or reminders.

They also concluded that the utilization of strategies that aimed at reducing unnecessary use of catheters like prompt removal and avoiding of placements that were unnecessary could significantly reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections. While the study indicated that limited literature exists on the use of antimicrobial catheters in the prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and that the only large random control trial indicated no additional benefit that was significant regarding this intervention in reducing incidences of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, it presents an avenue for future nursing research. Ethical Considerations in the study Scientific nursing evidence in research literature often form the basis of making decisions at clinical and policy levels, whose impact is felt by the patient and the healthcare professional (JN, C, C, D, & O.