Bladder management methods and urological complications in spinal cord injury patients

This study aimed to assess the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTI) and other urological complications in spinal cord injury patients (SCI). It also compares these complications among different bladder management methods. The bladder management methods studied included indwelling catheterization, clean intermittent catheterization (CIC), condom drainage, suprapubic cystostomy, reflex voiding, and normal voiding. The study compared the incidence of UTI and other urological issues with each method. The study found that clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) was associated with a lower incidence of urological complications compared to indwelling catheterization, suggesting it may be a preferable method for bladder management in SCI patients.

• 1
  The overall incidence of urinary tract infection was 0.64 / hundered person-days, while the overall incidence of bacteriuria was 1.70 / hundred person-days.
• 2
  The incidence of UTI per 100 person-days was significantly higher for indwelling catheterization (2.68) compared to CIC (0.34), condom drainage (0.34), suprapubic cystostomy (0.56), reflex voiding (0.34), and normal voiding (0.32).
• 3
  Urethral stricture, urethritis, periurethral abscess, epididymorchitis, and hematuria were statistically significantly less frequent in the CIC group compared to the indwelling catheterization group.