Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection

Abstract

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (UTIc) is a significant infection hazard despite available methods of prevention. Many UTIc pathogens are transmitted between catheterized patients by passive carriage on the hands of attendants. A recent study of Serratia marcescens UTIc demonstrated that the risk of urinary tract colonization varied directly with the extent of clustering of such patients. Their geographic dispersal, especially separation of those infected from those noninfected, warrants trial as an adjunctive measure for prevention of UTIc.