Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI).
Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI).
Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) Management Plan
Since CAUTI is a hospital-acquired infection, knowledge concerning the risk factors for CAUTI contributes to the maximum prevention of the problem. It paves the way for the implementation of a quality improvement plan in healthcare facilities. The entering of germs into the body through a patient’s urinary catheter leads to a severe complication, including death for critically ill patients. So, appropriate measures need to be put in place to curb the health issue through a well-structured CAUTI management plan that provides a roadmap.
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The objective of the Plan
The objective of the CAUTI management plan is to decrease CAUTI rates sustainable through fostering a safety culture in participating units.
Identification of the Causes of CAUTI
The rates of CAUTI cases are increasing, especially among patients with extended stays at hospitals due to some issues (Tenke, Mezei, Bőde, & Köves, 2017). These issues include;
a. the contamination of catheter upon insertion
b. failure of nurses to the regularly clean catheter
c. the backward flow of urine in the catheter bag into the bladder
d. poor removal of catheter
e. bacteria from a bowel movement getting on the catheter
f. failure to empty drainage bag often
g. poor hygiene in healthcare facilities
Steps for Implementing CAUTI Improved Practice
1. Assessing Catheters: Catheters in newly hospitalized and re-hospitalized patients, nurses and clinicians should assess the to know if they are still required and should be removed at the right time as the doctor approves.
2. Aseptic Insertion: It is good for healthcare providers to practice aseptic insertion of indwelling catheters and hand hygiene before and after catheter contact.
3. Regular Assessment: The nurses will need to use consistent assessments to insert new catheters only at only specific conditions. For instance, clinicians should insert new catheters in the appropriate conditions when required and carry reassessment at a certain interval.
4. Training: Care practitioners, residents, and families need training concerning catheter care and its appropriateness.
Challenges and Impediments to Implementing a Quality Improvement Plan
The implementation of this improved practice plan may face a blow from circumstances such as skipping the basics. Skipping the basics means nurses focus on high-levels outcomes without first getting a solid foundation for the plan basics (Russell, 2019). For instance, a nurse may skip aseptic insertion that has the critical fundamentals of having a practical quality plan. Another evident challenge is neglection of the power of cheerleaders. Nurses may tend to avoid stakeholders such as a patient’s family, with informal information on preventing CAUTI. Family members may help nurses in improving hygiene among hospitalized patients.
Required Resources for the Plan
The plan requires tools and equipment for hygiene maintenance at a healthcare facility where the insertion of catheters and its removal takes place. For hand hygiene, nurses should put on gloves when inserting catheters. Also, sanitizers or water and soap should be in place to ensure nurses wash their hands after the removal of gloves and catheters are cleaned. Sterilizers are needed to sterilize catheters to ensure patient safety (Gould, Umscheid, Agarwal, Kuntz, Pegues, & Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, 2010). The hospital should ensure enough stock of drainage bag to ensure the emptied ones are immediately replaced with new ones. Further, trainers are critical to teaching nurses on the best process of inserting and removing catheters. These resources are cost-effective because sanitizers, gloves, and hiring trainers can be done at low cost compared to outcomes such as severe CAUTI cases leading to deaths due to failure to take preventive measures in advance. Medical practitioners, the facility management, and medical suppliers are direct stakeholders to feel the impact of the change because they take part in either through decision-making, discharge treatment duties, or supply medications to take care of CAUTI patients.
References
Gould, C. V., Umscheid, C. A., Agarwal, R. K., Kuntz, G., Pegues, D. A., & Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. (2010). Guideline for prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections in 2009. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 31(4), 319-326.
Russell, J. A., & Watters, R. (2019). Implementation of a nurse-driven CAUTI prevention algorithm. Nursing Clinics, 54(1), 81-96.
Tenke, P., Mezei, T., Bőde, I., & Köves, B. (2017). Catheter-associated urinary tract infections. European urology supplements, 16(4), 138-143.