Doctors sometimes prescribe urinary catheters for patients who are incontinent, injured or seriously ill. Patients often need them during surgery, childbirth and other procedures. Patients may also have a catheter for tracking the exact amount of urinary output or collecting a sterile urine sample. Catheters are necessary when a patient cannot release urine from the bladder on his own. Most catheters are indwelling, remaining in place for a period of several hours up to a month before removal. Like any invasive medical device, catheters can cause a number of complications.
Infection
Urinary catheters can cause an infection of the urethra, bladder or kidney. These infections often occur when staff do not follow sterile procedure during the insertion of the catheter. Keeping the catheter in place for longer than a month increases the risk of infection. Failure to perform daily care of the catheter insertion site or failure to use appropriate technique when emptying the catheter can also lead to these urinary tract infections. Aetna InteliHealth explains that in men, long-term catheter use can also cause an infection in the prostate gland, scrotum or surrounding area.
Injury
Another complication of urinary catheters is injury. The bladder wall can be damaged during insertion. Most indwelling catheters contain a small balloon that is inflated inside the bladder to keep the catheter in place. If the balloon inflates in the urethra instead of in the bladder, it can damage the urethra, which is the canal that connects the bladder to the outside of the body. Injury can also occur when an indwelling catheter is pulled on or removed without deflating the balloon. These types of injuries typically occur when a patient is turned in the bed without securing the catheter first or when a confused patient forgets about the catheter and tries to walk while the catheter remains attached to the bed. Another common injury happens when a confused patient pulls the catheter out of his body. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center explains that an indwelling catheter can irritate the urethra over time, leading to a slow-healing wound.
Allergy
Some patients have an allergy or a sensitivity to the material used to make the catheter or the lubricant used to facilitate insertion. While most reactions resolve soon after catheter removal, in rare situations, a patient will experience anaphylactic shock, a lift-threatening complication.
