RANDOMIZED STUDY OF STERILE VERSUS NONSTERILE URETHRAL CATHETERIZATION

Indwelling urethral catheters are the most common cause of urinary tra ct infections (UTI), yet there is no direct evidence that technique of catheter insertion affects this. In a prospective study, 156 patients underwent preoperative urethral catheterisation, randomly allocated t o 'sterile' or 'clean/non-sterile' technique groups. There was no stat istical difference between the two groups with respect to the incidenc e of UTI. There was a considerable cost difference between the two gro ups, the 'sterile' method being over twice as expensive as the 'clean' method. Strict sterility is not necessary in preoperative short-term urethral catheterisation and is more expensive and time consuming.