Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)

What are we measuring?

Urinary catheters are soft, flexible tubes placed into the bladder to drain urine into a bag. Catheters are needed when the urine is blocked from flowing out of the bladder, or when it is important to precisely measure the amount of urine being made.

A urinary catheter can allow bacteria to enter the bladder, causing an infection of the bladder. Infections caused by urinary catheters are among the most common infections caused by a medical device while a patient is in the hospital.

How are we performing?

At UPMC our goal is to reduce or eliminate the number of infections as a result of being in the hospital.

We monitor healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) across the UPMC system by using a standardized infection ratio (SIR).

What are we doing to improve?

UPMC takes many steps to prevent infections from urinary catheters. Some of these are:

• Only using urinary catheters when necessary.
• Allowing only nurses and well-trained staff to insert catheters, who have been taught sterile techniques.
• Caregivers wash their hands and wear gloves when working with the catheter.
• Caregivers wash around the catheter daily.
• Removing the catheter as soon as possible.

View the Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) rates by UPMC hospital below:

*These hospitals did not have enough information to calculate a CAUTI SIR.