Urinary catheters: What type do men and their nurses prefer?

OBJECTIVES: Urinary catheters are used frequently, but the relative risks a nd benefits of different types of devices are not clear. We sought to deter mine the beliefs of both older male patients and nursing staff about the re lative merits and problems of condom and indwelling catheters. DESIGN: Patient and nurse survey using convenience sampling. SETTING: A University-affiliated Veterans Affairs medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Men hospitalized on medical, rehabilitation and nursing home units using either an indwelling ora condom catheter were invited to partic ipate as were all members of the nursing staff on these units. Of 116 eligi ble patients, 104 were interviewed (response rate = 90%). Of 107 eligible n ursing staff members, 99 completed the questionnaires (response rate = 92%) . INTERVENTION AND MEASUREMENTS: Consenting patients were interviewed persona lly about their urinary catheter. The nursing staff were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: Patients were mostly older and predominantly hospitalized on the m edical service. Compared with those using an indwelling catheter, patients using a condom catheter were more likely to believe that their catheter was comfortable (86 vs 58%, P = .04) and less likely to believe it was painful (14 vs 48%, P = .008) or to restrict their activity (24 vs 61%, P = .002). The nursing staff had a mean of 13 years nursing experience, and the major ity worked in the nursing home unit. Most of the nursing staff respondents believed that condom catheters were less painful and restrictive for patien ts and were easier to apply, but they also believed that they fell off and leaked more often and required more nursing time. CONCLUSIONS: Both patients and nursing staff prefer condom to indwelling ca theters for patient comfort, but they recognize that dislodgment and leakin g are major drawbacks of condom catheters. A more secure condom catheter wo uld greatly improve the management of male incontinence.