RIC-Wu catheter kit: new device for an old problem.

A new catheter kit has been developed for sterile urethral catheterization. It is useful for any patient requiring catheterization but has special advantages for the spinal cord injured person with a neurogenic bladder. The RIC-Wu Catheter Kit is simply a straight rubber catheter contained in a sterile clear plastic bag with one end formed into a restricted sterile field and the other into a tear-off chamber for urine laboratory testing. In clinical trials the RIC-Wu Catheter Kit has been found to have several advantages over the conventional sterile catheter tray: staff or self-catheterization is usually easier, faster and can be carried out with the patient sitting in a wheelchair in any private place; it is pocket sized and can be less expensive; less professional staff time is expected for a catheterization program; catheterization-induced infection rates are expected to be the same or less.