Intermittent urethral catheterization—descriptive study at a Brazilian service

Pulse article: survey of neurogenic bladder management in spinal cord injury patients around the world

STUDY DESIGN

Online survey distributed to healthcare professionals (HCPs) involved in care of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD).

OBJECTIVES

Identify and bring awareness to the variation of neurogenic bladder management in around the world.

SETTING

International online questionnaire.

METHODS

A 32-question survey was drafted and circulated among a global network of SCI experts for review. The survey was disseminated to healthcare professionals involved in the care of NLUTD in SCI patients via social media, grassroots methods, and international societies. The survey was available for 6 weeks and respondents answered questions regarding SCI population demographics, access to care, common neurogenic bladder management, diagnostic and imaging methods, complications, and follow up.

RESULTS

A total of 296 healthcare professionals, 132 from North America, 87 from Europe, 27 from Asia, 24 from Australia, 14 from South America, and 6 from Africa, responded to the survey. Global concurrence was noted among management method for patients without adequate hand function, first-line treatment for neurogenic detrusor overactivity, and common complications. Continents highly differed in responses regarding management method for patients with adequate hand function, frequency of patients reusing catheters, timing of urodynamics, and duration of antibiotic therapy for urinary tract infections.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this international survey demonstrate the variability and uniqueness in neurogenic bladder management in SCI patients around the world. Increased international discourse and education will improve global communication and transparency with the efforts of reducing discrepancies in care.

A new bladder-emptying method in females with neurogenic bladder: A randomized, phase II trial

AIM

To evaluate the performance of the new device compared with clean intermittent catheterization (CIC).

METHODS

From March 2015 to March 2018, patients who were admitted to the urologic outpatient clinic. A new intraurethral self-retaining device (ISRD) was made of medical grade silicone and it was inspired by similar catheters that use sliding disks to adjust or fix tubes used to drain the bladder. Patients were randomized into two groups (experimental group [GI]-ISRD vs control group [GII]-CIC). The evaluation was performed at the time of enrollment and 6 months after treatment. Intervention was initiated from the antisepsis of the perineal region and subsequent introduction of the device through the external urethral meatus. The primary outcome was quality of life (QOL). Urinary tract infections (UTIs) episodes, data on urodynamic parameters, adverse effects and number of diapers per day.

RESULTS

A total of 177 subjects were analyzed. We found a significant improvement on QOL analysis in the ISRD group (P < .01). ISRD group presented an important reduction (two episodes after ISRD use) on number of UTIs (P < .01) and diaper use, and significant improvement on bladder capacity (80 mL of the average improvement) (P < .01) and compliance (P = .01). Among all registered serious adverse effects, ISRD presented with lower proportion.

CONCLUSIONS

The new device has shown to be a safe and promising alternative for adequate emptying of the neurogenic bladder in female patients. Our study has a limitation that is related to a limited period of observation.

Fatores associados ao conhecimento de pacientes e cuidadores acerca do cateterismo vesical intermitente limpo: revisão integrativa

RESUMO Objetivo Identificar na literatura os fatores associados ao conhecimento de pacientes e cuidadores acerca do cateterismo vesical intermitente limpo que dificultam ou facilitam o procedimento. Método Revisão integrativa da literatura nas bases de dados MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, Web of Science, SCOPUS e LILACS. Resultados Após a revisão por pares, 13 estudos primários compuseram a amostra. A síntese do conhecimento foi realizada em duas categorias: Fatores associados ao conhecimento de pacientes e cuidadores sobre o que dificultam o procedimento e Fatores associados ao conhecimento de pacientes e cuidadores acerca do que facilitam o procedimento. Os fatores que dificultam e facilitam o procedimento relacionaram-se, respectivamente, à necessidade de informação e a sentimentos negativos, uso de linguagem de fácil compreensão, aplicação de folhetos informativos, entre outros. Conclusão Há escassez de artigos publicados sobre a temática, e os que foram identificados apresentaram baixo nível de evidência, exigindo, portanto, maior empenho e compromisso por parte de profissionais de saúde e pesquisadores para utilizarem desenhos mais robustos.

Social Determinants of Health in the lives of urinary catheter users

OBJECTIVE

To identify the influence of social determinants of health on the life conditions of patients who use intermittent urinary catheters.

METHOD

This was a descriptive study conducted in a rehabilitation center with 243 neurogenic bladder patients who used clear intermittent urinary catheters. The study was carried out between March 2012 and October 2015, using interviews based on semi-structured instruments, and data analysis using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

Most of the patients were men, between 16 and 64 years old, single, with an elementary education level, and a monthly household income of 2 to 3 minimum wages. The results show that the social determinants of health were related to socioeconomic, demographic, and health factors.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicate a complex relationship between social determinants of health and the life conditions of patients who use clean intermittent urinary catheters, presenting greater vulnerability related to some aspects of health conditions.

Current and future international patterns of care of neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury

PURPOSE

We aim to summarize the literature on international patterns of care for patients with neurogenic bladder (NGB) from spinal cord injury (SCI).

METHODS

We performed a PubMed database search, hand review of references, communication with professional societies, and registry evaluations for pertinent data.

RESULTS

Established patterns of care, including SCI registries and specialty centers, are available in high-resource countries such as the US and UK. As such, mortality rates from complications of NGB/SCI are lower. Access to intermittent catheterization supplies, among other resources, may be inadequate in many low-income regions. Cultural and religious beliefs may also hinder integration of proper bladder management in SCI patients. While guidelines exist in many parts of the world, it is unclear how rigorously they are disseminated or followed.

CONCLUSIONS

While there is a paucity of high-level evidence, the differences in patterns of care are closely related to socioeconomic status and resources of the geographic area. Future research efforts should focus on improving access to diagnostic modalities, supplies, and specialists in these areas.

Telenursing Intervention for Clean Intermittent Urinary Catheterization Patients: A Pilot Study

Telenursing is a promising strategy to make nursing care feasible in different health situations, mainly to help patients with chronic illnesses. The aim in this study was to test the feasibility (acceptability and usability) of a telenursing intervention in care delivery to patients using clean intermittent urinary catheterization. This descriptive study focused on an intervention involving urology outpatients. The telenursing intervention was implemented synchronously by audio calls and chat and asynchronously by e-mail as part of a pilot study. The contact between nurse and patient was undertaken through an active search or on spontaneous demand, in which the patient contacted the nurse when necessary. During the 5 weeks of study, 21 telenursing care sessions took place, including 13 (61.9%) on spontaneous demand and eight (38.1%) on active demand. With regard to the technological resource used, 13 telenursing sessions (61.9%) took place by telephone call and eight (30.1%) by e-mail. The pilot study demonstrated the potential of the telenursing intervention to achieve important results, and as a complement to the patients' traditional health treatment. In addition, it revealed various barriers that need to be overcome for this type of care to take place effectively.

Telenursing manual for providing care to patients using clean intermittent urinary catheterization

Abstract Objective: To develop and evaluate apparent and content validity of a telenursing manual to support nurses in the care delivery of patients using clean intermittent urinary catheterization. Methods: Methodological study addressing the development and validation of a telenursing manual. The expert group who validated the telenursing manual was composed of 11 nurses. An inter-rater level of agreement of 70% was considered for each aspect of the instrument. Results: The following levels of agreement were obtained for each aspect: Language 97%, Content 97.7% and Objectives, Relevance, Functionality and Usability 100% each. Conclusion: The manual is available for access and represents an important initiative for the field of telenursing in Brazil, assisting nurses in the telecare provided to patients using clean intermittent urinary catheterization.

Quality of life of patients using intermittent urinary catheterization

Objectives

measure and compare the quality of life of neurogenic bladder patients using intermittent urinary catheterization who were going through rehabilitation in Brazil and Portugal.

Method

multicenter, quantitative, cross-sectional, observational-analytic and correlational study executed in Brazil and Portugal. Two data collection tools were used, being one questionnaire with sociodemographic and clinical data and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-bref. Patients were included who were over 18 years of age, suffering from neurogenic urinary bladder and using intermittent urinary catheterization.

Results

in the sample of Brazilian (n = 170) and Portuguese (n = 52) patients, respectively, most patients were single (87-51.2%; 25-48.1%), had finished primary education (47-45.3%; 31-59.6%) and were retired (70-41.2%; 21-40.4%). Spinal cord injury was the main cause of using the urinary catheter in both countries. The Brazilian patients presented higher mean quality of life scores in the psychological domain (68.9) and lower scores in the physical domain (58.9). The Portuguese patients presented higher scores in the psychological domain (68.4) and lower scores in the environment domain (59.4). The execution of intermittent urinary self-catheterization was significant for both countries.

Conclusions

in the two countries, these patients' quality of life can be determined by the improvement in the urinary symptoms, independence, self-confidence, social relationships and access to work activities.

What do we know about neurogenic bladder prevalence and management in developing countries and emerging regions of the world?

OBJECTIVE

To summarize information on Neurogenic Bladder (NB) epidemiology, management and access to patient treatment in developing countries and emerging regions of the world in order to propose future interventions and help governmental as well as non-governmental organizations design their action plans.

METHODS

Different search methods were used to gather the maximum available data. They included strategic searches; reference checks; grey literature searches (reports, working papers, government documents, civil society information); contacting professional societies, registries, and authors; requesting unpublished data from organizations; and browsing related websites and journals.

RESULTS

The incidence and prevalence rates of NB in developing countries are difficult to establish because epidemiological reports are few and far between. The frequency of bladder dysfunction in neurologically impaired populations can be approximately estimated in some of these countries. Similar information paucity affects diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to NB patients living in less-developed regions of the world. The assessment and management of NB seems to vary markedly between countries, and care of patients from emerging regions of the world is often inadequate.

CONCLUSION

Strong concerted efforts are needed on the part of international scientific societies, non-governmental organizations and local governments to work together to change the prognosis for these patients and to improve their quality of life.

Validation of self - confidence scale for clean urinary intermittent self - catheterization for patients and health - caregivers

Objective

To validate a measurement instrument for clean intermittent self-catheterization for patients and health-caregivers.

Material and Methods

Methodological study of instrument validation performed at a Rehabilitation Center in a University hospital for patients submitted to clean intermittent self-catheterization and their health-caregivers. Following ethical criteria, data were collected during interview with nurse staff using a Likert question form containing 16 items with 5 points each: “no confidence”=1, “little confidence”=2, “confident”=3, “very confident”=4 and “completely confident”=5. Questionnaire called “Self-Confident Scale for Clean Intermittent Self-catheterization” (SCSCISC) was constructed based on literature and previously validated (appearance and content).

Results

The instrument was validated by 122 patients and 119 health-caregivers, in a proportion of 15:1. It was observed a good linear association and sample adequacy KMO 0.931 and X2=2881.63, p<0.001. Anti-image matrix showed high values at diagonal suggesting inclusion of all factors. Screen plot analysis showed a suggestion of items maintenance in a single set. It was observed high correlation of all items with the total, alpha-Cronbach 0.944. The same results were obtained in subsamples of patients and health-caregivers.

Conclusion

The instrument showed good psychometric adequacy corroborating its use for evaluation of self-confidence during clean intermittent self-catheterization.

Urinary retention: implications of low-fidelity simulation training on the self-confidence of nurses

METHOD

This was a quasi-experimental study carried out among nurses stationed in municipal care units in the interior of São Paulo State. Data were collected during the course of a pedagogical workshop that used low-fidelity simulation training.

RESULTS

The study included 42 nurses, mostly female with over 15 years of experience. After low-fidelity simulation training, nurses showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in confidence related to nursing care in urinary retention. The lowest self-attributed scores during the activity were related to the objective assessment of urinary retention.

CONCLUSION

Low-fidelity simulated training is an effective resource for the development of nurses with respect to nursing care in urinary retention.

OBJETIVO

Avaliar o nível de autoconfiança de enfermeiros na assistência de enfermagem na retenção urinária antes e após atividade simulada de baixa fidelidade.

MÉTODO

Estudo quase-experimental realizado junto aos enfermeiros lotados nas unidades de atendimento de município do interior do estado de São Paulo. Os dados foram coletados durante a realização de uma oficina pedagógica que contou com atividade simulada de baixa fidelidade.

RESULTADOS

Participaram do estudo 42 enfermeiros, a maioria do sexo feminino e com mais de 15 anos de atuação. Após o treino simulado de baixa fidelidade os enfermeiros demonstraram aumento significativo (p < 0,05) na autoconfiança relacionada à assistência de enfermagem na retenção urinária. Os menores escores autoatribuídos durante a atividade foram relacionados à avaliação objetiva da retenção urinária.

CONCLUSÃO

A simulação de baixa fidelidade é um recurso efetivo no aprimoramento de enfermeiros no que diz respeito à assistência de enfermagem na retenção urinária.

Intermittent urethral catheterisation: the reality of the lubricants and catheters in the clinical practice of a Brazilian service

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To identify how catheters and lubricants have been used among patients using intermittent urinary catheterisation in rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND

The clean intermittent urinary catheterisation technique is an invasive procedure can cause discomfort, pain and urethral traumas. The use of lubricants and lubricated urinary catheters reduces the friction between the catheter and the urethral mucosa, minimising the risks.

DESIGN

A descriptive exploratory design was used.

METHODS

Quantitative and descriptive study developed at a rehabilitation centre of a University Hospital in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, at the Intermittent Urinary Catheterisation Outpatient Clinic, between June 2012-December 2014. After ethical approval, the data were collected through an interview with the support of a semistructured questionnaire, held during the nursing consultation. Among the users, patients using intermittent urinary catheterisation were interviewed, over 18 years of age and minors younger than eight years accompanied. Descriptive statistical analysis was applied.

RESULTS

Most of 214 (100·0%) patients were interviewed were male, single, young adults and with a primary medical diagnosis of bone marrow injury and myelomeningocele. Most patients perform the urinary catheterisation between four and six times per day. For the procedure, the majority uses polyethylene (polyvinyl chloride) catheter and, as a lubricant, 2·0% lidocaine hydrochloride on the catheter itself. Many mention lack of sensitivity when passing the catheter.

CONCLUSION

In the study sample, a risk of urethral traumas was evidenced, related to the inappropriate use of catheters and lubricants. For the patients' safety, the professionals need to acknowledge the importance of the appropriate use of lubricants and lubricated catheters to implement evidence-based practices that mobilise public policies.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The use of evidences demonstrates that the appropriate use of lubricants for intermittent urinary catheterisation is fundamental for patient safety and the performance of the best practices.