Clean Intermittant Self Catheterisation: A Trial Comparing Single Use vs Reuse of Nelaton Catheters

Patients with voiding dysfunction and chronic urinary retention are taught the technique Clean Intermittent Self Catheterisation (CISC) by specialist Nurse Continence Advisors.

For several decades, patients have been taught to catheterise using a "clean" technique where they rinse their catheter under tap water and store the catheter in a sterile solution (e.g. Milton). The catheter is re-used for up to one week. The risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) was known to be minimal (and certainly much less than having a permanent indwelling catheter).

Recently, the Therapeutics Goods Administration has issued a guideline that CISC catheters should be "single-use items" but no data to support this guideline appears to have been collected.

The aim of this project is to assess the incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI) when comparing single-use catheters with re-use of catheters for CISC, and to determine the cost differences between the two methods.

Inclusion criteria

• over 18 years old
• CISC > 2/day
• No current symptomatic UTI
• Willing to change catheter use method

Exclusion criteria

• Symptomatic Urinary Tract infection despite treatment
• <18 years old