For Immediate Release
Study: Silver-coated catheters reduce urinary tract infections
Medicare's Shift to Pay for Performance Makes Reducing CAUTIs Imperative to Improve Patient Outcomes
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 —
Using silver-coated catheters for patients significantly reduced the most common hospital-acquired infection, according to a study published in the April issue of Urologic Nursing, the Journal of the Society of Urological Nurses and Associates.
Two nurses from a 42-bed rehabilitation hospital in Arkansas compared numbers and rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) from data they gathered during two periods. The first was a four-month period in 2006 using a standard latex catheter. The second was a six-month period using a silver-coated catheter.
Authors Jackie Kassler, RN and Josh Barnett, RN, CRRN of St. Vincent's Rehabilitation Hospital in Sherwood, Ark. discovered ten nosocomial catheter-associated urinary tract infections during the four-month period using the standard latex catheters. During the six-months of silver-coated catheter use, the hospital found no nosocomial catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
Kassler and Barnett theorized that silver, a long-known antimicrobial, played a key role in reducing infections. The authors write that, while silver has been used in catheters for a decade, products with silver have not yet become standard of care in most health care settings. They cite previous in vitro studies in which biofilm is reduced when silver is added to the construction of catheter.
St. Vincent's embarked upon the study in an effort to reduce CAUTI, the most prevalent hospital-acquired infection in the United States (according to the CDC). Most of St. Vincent's patients are transferred from acute care settings after neurological or orthopedic surgery or for short-term rehabilitation. Average length of stay is approximately 13 days and 85 percent of patients are discharged back to community settings.
Significantly, Medicare's shift to Pay for Performance later this fall played a role in this analysis. Medicare has stated that it will not reimburse hospitals for additional care delivered due to catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
Medline Industries, Inc. provided the silver-coated catheters for the study. According to Jennifer Tomes, director of marketing –urology at Medline, education is one of the key components to using medical devices. .
Medline sales and training staff provide a Urological Clinical Troubleshooting Guidebook for medical facilities that covers basics of catheter placement and other tips for reducing complications. "Increasingly, we are finding that nurses welcome educational support, such as our program on Medline University that focuses on catheter training, as they keep up with changing regulations and new research findings," she said. Medline University, provided by Medline, is an online source for continuing education.
"Everyone is looking for ways to reduce their infection rate to zero," she said. "But you need a marriage of good practice, good education and good products to achieve it."
About Medline
Medline, the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products, manufactures and distributes more than 100,000 products to hospitals, extended care facilities, surgery centers, home care dealers and agencies and other markets. Headquartered in Mundelein, IL, Medline has more than 800 dedicated sales representatives nationwide to support its broad product line and cost management services.
Over the past five years, Medline has been the fastest growing distributor of medical and surgical supplies in the U.S., serving as the primary distributor to over 250 major hospitals and health care systems. As a leading distributor, Medline offers a comprehensive array of consulting and management services encompassing the supply chain and logistics, utilization and standardization, business tools and enhanced reporting capabilities, and on-staff clinicians.
Medline has a growing network of 34 distribution centers around the country, as well as an expanding, dedicated transportation fleet with over 160 vehicles in a variety of sizes to fit customers' specific delivery needs. The fleet is equipped with the latest navigation devices for enhanced order tracking and communication.