Urinary tract infections in patients admitted to rehabilitation from acute care settings: a descriptive research study.

The use of an indwelling urinary catheter comes with associated risks. At a hospital in southern California, nurses on the acute rehabilitation unit suspected their patients were arriving from acute care with undiagnosed urinary tract infections (UTIs). This descriptive research study quantified the incidence of UTI on admission to a rehabilitation unit and correlations with catheter use. During the study period, 132 patients were admitted to acute rehabilitation from an acute care setting, and 123 met criteria to participate in the study. Among participants, 12% had a UTI upon admission. Questionnaires examined nursing attitudes toward appropriate urinary catheter use and proactive catheter removal. The data revealed that nurses want to be involved in decisions about urinary catheter use and that medical/surgical and rehabilitation nurses agree strongly about advocating for patients with indwelling urinary catheters.