Microbial Colonization and Associated Factors in Indwelling Urinary Catheters: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Melike Durukan, Ayşe Akbıyık, Selçuk Kaya and 1 others
PMID 39937059WHAT IT FOUND
All 61 catheters sampled after at least 2 days grew bacteria, mostly Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 47.89% of isolates were multidrug-resistant.
No patient factor or catheter duration showed a clear link to the organisms found.
Key findings
01All 61 catheter cultures grew bacteria at 10⁵ CFU/mL or higher.
02Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found in 70.49% of cultures, and 47.89% of clinical isolates were multidrug-resistant.
03No measured patient factor, catheter duration, catheterization location, vital sign, or laboratory value showed a clear link to the organisms found.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was done in one ICU in Türkiye, where catheter care followed hospital guidelines, so results may not apply to units with different infection control or antibiotic use. The paper reports inconsistent antibiotic use data, which limits interpretation of resistance patterns. Each patient provided only one catheter sample, so the study cannot show when colonization began or how it changed over time. The study measured catheter colonization, not whether patients developed catheter-associated urinary tract infection. Because all catheters were colonized, there was little room to compare risk factors between colonized and non-colonized patients. Detailed antibiotic types and protocols were not reported, limiting interpretation of the resistance findings.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that routine catheter replacement is needed or that specific patient factors identify who will be colonized. All catheters were colonized in this single ICU sample, no measured factor was linked to colonization, and the study did not test replacement or infection outcomes.