Use of ultrasonography in the evaluation of urinary retention in critically ill patients.
Karina Rodrigues Lopes, Beatriz Maria Jorge, Maria Helena Barbosa and 2 others
PMID 37820221WHAT IT FOUND
After ICU catheter removal, nurse bladder ultrasound found urinary retention in 15 of 37 patients.
Retention was associated with urinary tract infection, constipation, and spontaneous diuresis.
Key findings
01Nurse-performed bladder ultrasound after catheter removal identified urinary retention in 15 of 37 ICU patients.
02Patients with urinary tract infection were 7.4 times more likely to have urinary retention after adjustment for sex and age group.
03Urinary retention occurred in 15 of 32 patients with constipation and in 9 of 12 patients with spontaneous diuresis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 37 patients were assessed, not the planned 272, because pandemic restrictions limited recruitment. The study was done in one adult ICU with 30 beds in Brazil, so results may not apply elsewhere. The design was cross-sectional and patients were assessed once, between 4 and 48 hours after catheter removal, so it cannot show timing or causation. The UTI association was imprecise, with an adjusted odds ratio of 7.40, lower limit 1.27, and upper limit 43.06.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 7.4 times association as proof that urinary tract infection causes retention or that treating it prevents retention. The study was cross-sectional, enrolled 37 patients, and did not test an intervention.