1VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan; 2Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; 3VA/UM Patient Safety Enhancement Program, Ann Arbor, Michigan; 4Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine; 5Department of Urology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; 6Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas.
Disclosures
Dr. Saint reports serving on the medical advisory board for Doximity (a social networking site for physicians), and on the scientific advisory board of Jvion (a healthcare technology company). In addition, Dr. Saint has a provisional patent pending on a product to improve aseptic placement of urinary catheters, unrelated to this manuscript. Dr. Saint has no associations with any companies or manufacturers, has no ownership in a commercial entity, and receives no royalties for this pending patent. Dr. Trautner reports receiving the following funding unrelated to this manuscript: grant support from Zambon Pharmaceuticals, as well as consultant fees from Zambon Pharmaceuticals and Paratek Pharmaceuticals.
Funding
This study was funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research & Development Service (Grant: IIR 12-395 and RCS 11-222). Dr. Trautner’s work is supported in part by the Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (CIN 13-413) at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
To assess complications of condom catheters compared with indwelling urethral catheters, we conducted a prospective cohort study in two Veterans Affairs hospitals. Male patients who used a condom catheter or indwelling urethral catheter during their hospital stay were followed for one month by interview and medical record review. Participants included 36 men who used condom catheters and 44 who used indwelling urethral catheters. At least one catheter-related complication was reported by 80.6% of condom catheter users and 88.6% of indwelling catheter users (P = .32), and noninfectious complications (eg, leaking urine, pain, or discomfort) were more common than infectious complications in both groups. Condom catheter patients were significantly less likely than indwelling catheter patients to report complications during catheter placement (13.9% vs 43.2%; P < .001). Patients reported approximately three times more noninfectious complications than the number recorded in the medical record.
The authors thank the following individuals who assisted with data collection for the study: Laura Dillon, Jeanaya McKinley, Laura Peña, Jason Mann, Marylena Rouse, Kathy Swalwell, Suzanne Winter, Jane Wong, and Debbie Zawol.
Disclaimer
The funding sources played no role in the design, conducting, or evaluation of this study. The findings and conclusions in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
