Water versus antiseptic periurethral cleansing before catheterization among home care patients: A randomized controlled trial

BackgroundThere is a lack of research studies on periurethral cleansing before catheterization among home care patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the risk of acquiring symptomatic urinary tract infections through the conventional practice of using 0.05% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) versus sterile water for periurethral cleansing before insertion of an indwelling urinary catheter.MethodsA randomized controlled trial was used, and subjects were randomly allocated to either the sterile water group or the 0.05% CHG group. Urine specimens for culture were collected 4 times for each subject within 2 weeks.ResultsSeventy-four urine samples were collected in 20 subjects (sterile water group, 8; 0.05% CHG group, 12). There was no significant difference in colonization count between the 2 groups. In addition, none of the subjects in the 2 groups developed symptomatic bacteriuria.ConclusionUsing sterile water to clean the periurethral area before catheterization among home care patients will not increase the risk for urinary tract infections.