Effective management of urinary drainage systems in critical care areas.

Many invasive procedures are used in the care of critically ill people. These potentially increase the risks of infection which may be fatal, as such patients usually have reduced efficiency of normal defence mechanisms. Urethral catheterisation and continuous urinary drainage is one such procedure which is commonly necessary and is known to carry a considerable risk of urinary tract infections. Effective management should reduce the incidence of these. In some units no rationally-based protocols are available to guide nursing management of urinary drainage and thus minimise this risk. This paper is based on a time-limited literature search undertaken as a basis for producing the guidelines recommended, which are research-based where possible though there is as yet no experimental evidence on some aspects of care.