The nursing management of patients with long-term indwelling catheters.

A survey of 107 hospitalized and home-based patients showed up considerable variations in nursing management of indwelling catheters. CSU records of hospitalized patients showed a wide range of infecting organisms. Antibiotic treatment was found to be unimportant. Three types of male Foley catheter were in general use: 100% silicone, silastic and latex with teflon-treated coatings. Difficulties were reported in obtaining the 100% silicone catheters. Sixty-eight per cent of the patients used leg bags and the drainage bag supporting systems in use were felt to be inadequate. Catheter bypassing was a problem for 40% of the patients. Nurses adopted many procedures to cope with bypassing. Results show that some patients were needlessly catheterized. The study emphasizes the need for further investigations and better policies for management of long-term catheters.