Rate of Urinary Tract Infections with Different Methods of Catheterization in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract Introduction: Most patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) have urinary stasis due to neurogenic bladder, which promotes bacterial colonization and impairs the phagocytic ability of epithelial cells that line the bladder, making them prone to urinary tract infections (UTIs). Aim: The aim of the study was to establish the prevalence of UTI with different modalities of catheterisation in SCI. Materials and Methodology: Patients with SCI who were admitted to a hospital between January 2022 and Dec 2023, or who presented to the outpatient department were subjected to analysis to establish UTI while being on different modalities of catheterization. Results: Three hundred and fifty-one individuals were included in the study, with all of them being men. The average age of individuals in the study was 31.67 ± 7.73 years, the youngest being 21 years and the oldest being 55 years old. The rate of UTI in suprapubic catheterization, Foley catheterization, intermittent catheterization, and external device were 64.4%, 52.8%, 35.5%, and 23.3%, respectively. The most common organism to cause UTI in SCI was Escherichia coli . The risk of acquiring UTI increased proportionally with the duration of invasive catheterization, the study revealed suprapubic catheterized patients developed UTI within 24 days, followed by Foleys and the external device, 38 and 42 days, respectively, and the safest mode was intermittent catheterization which took around 56 days. Conclusions: Intermittent catheterization and external devices are associated with less incidence of UTI than continuous indwelling suprapubic and Foley catheters. Early removal and periodic change of the indwelling catheters also reduce the incidence of UTI.