To measure the incidence and severity of urinary tract infections (UTI) in intermittent catheter (IC) users with neurogenic and non-neurogenic diagnoses.
Administrative health insurance claims data from the IBM MarketScan® Database between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2019, were analyzed. New IC-users with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD); IC-users without NLUTD (non-NLUTD); and age-and-sex-matched general population without IC use (GEN) were compared. Individuals were followed for one year after initial IC utilization or random index date for GEN. The primary outcome was a patient seeing a physician or attending a hospital for a UTI (measured with a primary or secondary diagnosis code related to a UTI). UTI incidence, hospitalizations, and length of hospital stay were compared.
We identified 6944 NLUTD, 5102 non-NLUTD, and 120 426 GEN individuals. The annualized UTI incidence was higher in IC-users (54.9% NLUTD IC-users and 38.9% non-NLUTD IC-users) compared to GEN individuals (9.8%) (p < 0.001 between groups). Hospitalization for UTI was more common in NLUTD and non-LUTD (11.3% and 4.0%, respectively) compared with GEN individuals (1.0%) (p < 0.001 between groups). NLUTD individuals had a greater average length of hospital stay than non-NLUTD (2.2 ± 3.6 vs. 1.6 ± 2.1 days, p < 0.001).
IC users had a significantly higher incidence of UTIs than the general population. NLUTD IC-users had a higher incidence of UTIs that required hospitalization compared to non-NLUTD individuals. Strategies to decrease the patient and healthcare burden of UTIs in those that catheterize should be prioritized.
Neurourology and urodynamics. 2022 Mar 25 [Epub ahead of print]
Blayne Welk, Sara Lenherr, Yahir Santiago-Lastra, Holly S Norman, Melanie G Keiser, Christopher S Elliott
Department of Surgery and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, Ontario, Canada., Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA., Department of Urology, University of San Diego Health, San Diego, California, USA., Coloplast, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA., Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California, USA.