CHICAGO, IL USA (UroToday.com) - This study investigated two different lengths of intermittent catheters (ICs) in male patients. The primary objective was to determine overall preference for catheter length (40 cm versus 30 cm) and compare assessment of ease and use characteristics. The study was an unblinded, multicenter, (7 sites) controlled, randomized crossover study. Inclusion criteria were adult male wheelchair patients who self-catheterize at least 3 times a day. Exclusion was mechanical, infectious, and anatomical abnormalities. The procedure was per randomization schedule as each subject consecutively used 10 control catheters (40 cm length) and 10 shorter length (30 cm) catheters. Responses to ease-of-use questions were reported on a 5-point Likert scale (1-very easy to 5-very difficult). The analysis was limited to the last catheterization for each test product. Eighty-one men (mean age 38.4) completed the study.
The results indicated that approximately 91% (74 out of 81) of the subjects preferred a longer length catheter. Twenty-eight percent were unable to drain the bladder with a shorter catheter and discontinued its use prior to completion of all 10 shorter-length catheters. The top 3 reasons for preference of a longer catheter were more satisfactory length (74.3%), it drained bladder more completely (70.3%), and easier to drain urine into receptacle (58.1%). So it appears as though men who are primarily wheelchair bound prefer to perform intermittent self-catheterization with the standard 40 cm catheter length when compared to a shorter 30 cm catheter length.
Historically, shorter-length catheters have been used by women as urethral length is less than in men. A shorter-length catheter has been introduced by Coloplast, and more research on their use and acceptability by male patients is necessary.
This study was funded by Hollister Incorporated.
Presented by Melissa Meniera and Joseph Costa, DOb at the Simon Foundation for Continence's Innovating for Continence Conference Series - April 12 - 13, 2013 - Chicago, Illinois USA
aHollister Inc, Libertyville, Illinois
bUniversity of Florida
Reported for UroToday.com by Diane K. Newman, DNP, ANP-BC, FAAN
About the Conference Series
The Innovating for Continence Conference Series is a unique, international, biennial conference for engineers, physicians, nurses, people with incontinence and their caregivers, academics, industry executives, and those with a passion for increased development of creative and efficacious products for the management of incontinence.
The multi-disciplinary meetings attract speakers from a wide range of disciplines and is organized and hosted by The Simon Foundation for Continence (Chicago, IL USA). It is made possible through generous support from individual and industry sponsors.
Professor Alan Cottenden is the ongoing chair for the conference series. He is Professor of Incontinence Technology at University College London, England. Professor Cottenden is the Chair of the Organizing Committee for the biennial conference "Incontinence: The Engineering Challenge" hosted by the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers along with the committee on Management Using Continence Products of the International Consultation on Incontinence (ICI). He has been involved in continence technology for almost 30 years, working on clinical and basic science aspects as well as product development and international standards work (ISO).
