A Nurse-Driven Protocol for Removal of Indwelling Urinary Catheters Across a Multi-Hospital Academic Healthcare System.

Abstract

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are one of the most common hospital-acquired infections in the United States. Because of persistently high CAUTI rates despite evidence-based interventions, we designed and implemented a performance improvement nurse-driven removal protocol for indwelling urinary catheters. Post-implementation, both catheter utilization and CAUTIs decreased significantly at the one hospital with the highest baseline rates; at the two hospitals with low baseline rates, the impact of the protocol varied. This project highlights important steps in developing and implementing a nurse-driven removal protocol across a multi-hospital academic healthcare system.