A few papers on the use of urinary catheters have caught my eye recently. It’s a subject close to my heart and was the subject of my eponymous lecture at the Infection Prevention 2013 meeting in London, available online for insomniacs via the excellent Webber Training Teleclass recording The slides are here. Despite these devices being second to peripheral cannulation in the ‘most’ used devices’ awards annually (and a clear winner in the ‘most overused’ section), the evidence base is somewhat thin. Are they inserted well? Possibly (and indeed probably) not. Do they only get inserted appropriately and are they speedily removed? Um… maybe not. Continue reading
Devices
Tubular Bells
Bells have a certain resonance for me. When they toll, people listen as they are normally of significance. I have just heard one. I have been waiting from this paper to come out since I heard the authors speak about progress at last year’s Infection Prevention Society meeting in Glasgow. Decision-making prior to passing a urinary catheter is something close to my heart, since we need to know why people do things if we are to modify practice. For me, telling people that a list of specific indications for an intervention exists merely makes the decision-maker pick which one on the list fits their desire or perceived need to catheterise most.
Reflections on Infection Prevention and Control 