Catheter-associated urinary tract infections pose a significant risk to hospitalized patients.
Measuring accurate urinary output is a common reason for indwelling catheterizations in acutely ill patients. The risk of catheter-associated infections may be eliminated while maintaining ability to measure urinary output of incontinent patients through the use of a highly absorbent pad and weighing post incontinence. The dry pad weight is subtracted from the wet pad weight and the resulting difference (expressed in grams) equals the volume of urine leaked into the pad in milliliters. We found that using this system of improved measurement of urine output when compared to documenting the number of incontinent episodes while allowing removal of indwelling urethral catheters as soon as possible.
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Beuscher T. Are you the author?
Tara Beuscher, DNP, RN-BC, GCNS-BC, ANP-BC, CWOCN, CFCN, Advanced Practice Nurse III - Nurse Practitioner, Transitional Care Hospital, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville.
Reference: J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 2014 Nov-Dec;41(6):604-8.
doi: 10.1097/WON.0000000000000068
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25377111