Risk factors for urinary tract infections associated with lower quality of life among intermittent catheter users

Abstract

Background: Evidence shows that intermittent catheterisation (IC) for bladder emptying is linked to urinary tract infections (UTIs) and poor quality of life (QoL). Aim: To investigate the association between UTI risk factors and QoL and patient-reported UTIs respectively. Methods: A survey was distributed to IC users from 13 countries. Findings: Among 3464 respondents, a significantly poorer QoL was observed when experiencing blood in the urine, residual urine, bowel dysfunction, recurrent UTIs, being female, and applying withdrawal techniques. A lower UTI risk was found when blood was not apparent in urine (RR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.55–0.71), the bladder was perceived empty (RR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.72-0.96), not having bowel dysfunction (RR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.76–0.98), and being male (RR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.62–0.79). Conclusion: This study underlines the importance of risk factors and their link to QoL and UTIs, highlighting the need for addressing symptoms before UTIs become problematic.