Chanhaeng Rhee
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Adv Practice Nurs
Background: Elimination of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) is a national patient safety imperative. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are the most common type of health care-associated infection reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Among UTIs acquired in the hospital, approximately 75% are linked to urinary catheters. Aim & Methods: Systems Engineering (SE) and Human Factors Engineering (HFE) methods were used to reduce urinary catheter utilization and CAUTIs in a 610-bed academic medical center in Dallas Texas. These methods were used to define the factors leading to CAUTI and promote standardization of urinary catheter utilization, insertion and maintenance. Results: The absolute number of catheter-associated urinary tract infections decreased in our hospital system from 135 infections in our baseline year, to 25 cases in our final year (82% reduction) over the three years of the project. Urinary catheter utilization decreased by 28.6% during the same period. The system-wide CAUTI Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR) improved by 84.1% from our baseline of 3.2 to 0.51. Conclusion: Systems engineering and human factors engineering methods and principles can effectively decrease urinary catheter utilization and CAUTI incidence in an Academic Medical Center Hospital environment.
Journal of Advanced Practices in Nursing received 356 citations as per Google Scholar report
