Better Male Catheters

A so-called ‘indwelling’ catheter is a necessary but hated intervention that many older men face when in hospital. And its use is often accompanied by a stubborn urinary infection. A new alternative is the external ‘condom’ catheter, which has been found to result in fewer bladder infections; and the patients seem to prefer it.

A study done at the Puget Sound VA Health Care System compared the two types of catheters in 75 volunteers. Forty one received an indwelling catheter and 34 used one of five sizes of condom catheters. Their health was carefully tracked for 30 days, with tests for bacteria in the urine (bacteriuria) and monitoring for symptoms of urinary tract infection.

There were 11 new cases of infection for every 100 days of hospitalization with an indwelling catheter, versus 6 for those with condom catheters. The indwelling catheter users who developed infections did so within 7 days, on average, compared with 13 days for the condom catheter users.

These findings could represent a sea-change in the use of catheters. Condom catheters can’t be used, however, by patients with urinary tract obstructions (stones or prostate enlargement), after certain anesthetics, and by those in intensive care where close urinary monitoring is necessary. But otherwise the clear-cut improvement in comfort and lessened pain make their widespread introduction an imperative (at least in the view of this 75-year-old).