Catheter associated urinary tract infection within care of the elderly facilities: results from a Scottish pilot study

Abstract

Following a review of the current methodology for catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) surveillance in Scotland a protocol was developed by Health Protection Scotland incorporating infection definitions based on clinical signs and symptoms rather than microbiology criteria. These definitions are recommended by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for use in care of the elderly facilities as they hope to reduce the overestimation of urinary tract infections by excluding asymptomatic bacteriuria. In 2009, a pilot study of the protocol was carried out in volunteer care of the elderly facilities across Scotland. A total of 659 patients admitted to the care of the elderly facilities participated in CAUTI surveillance in six pilot hospitals and a total of 122 catheters were inserted. During the study period a total of 19 urinary tract infections were identified of which 15 met the criteria for CAUTI. The CAUTI surveillance protocol and data definitions appeared to be robust. The study was therefore able to provide valuable data about catheter use and CAUTI incidence rates. The surveillance protocol and collection tool can be easily adapted for use in care home settings thus providing a valuable surveillance tool for these resident populations.