Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Some Progress Seen in Move to Reduce Catheter-Associated UTIs

June 5, 2016 By New England Journal of Medicine

Preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and unnecessary urinary catheter use not only spares patients the infection, but also reduces the risk of more serious complications such as bloodstream infection, according to the results of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It also decreases the need for antibiotics, often misused for treating asymptomatic bacteriuria.

The study was part of a national initiative to reduce CAUTI in the hospital setting, including intensive care units and non-ICUs. St. John Hospital and Medical Center, part of Ascension Michigan, participated in the national project called “On the CUSP: Stop CAUTI.”

The judicious use of antibiotics reduces the chance that bacteria will develop resistance to these life-saving medications, according to researchers. By the end of the first four cohorts, researchers found no significant reduction in use of catheters or rate of CAUTI in the ICU setting, whereas CAUTI rates decreased by 32 percent and catheter use by 7 percent in non-ICUs.

Based upon previous research, leaders of the national project team developed a combination of protocols, checklists, training modules and data sharing practices to address catheterization use. Researchers found that a collaborative approach effort focused on both technical and socioadaptive interventions (behavior and culture change) can reduce catheter-associated UTI rates in the non-ICU setting. The study also allowed researchers to scale interventions intended for a single hospital to a broader group. 

Mohamad Fakih, MD, MPH, Karen Jones, RN, MPH, and St. John Hospital and Medical Center faculty, served on the national project team providing project implementation advice, expertise in infection prevention, leadership in content development, and educational support over the project’s span of 4 years.

Fakih, senior medical director, Ascension Center of Excellence for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention, co-authored findings of the first 4 (of 9) cohorts that participated in the initiative, which encompassed 926 units in 603 hospitals across 32 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

A study published in 2014 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine highlighted the collaborative work of 18 Ascension emergency departments to reduce unnecessary urinary catheter use. The Ascension Health study was led by Fakih and initiated under the Partnership for Patients program, an initiative of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Through standardizing the process, the program resulted in a 30 percent reduction in use of newly placed catheters, which was sustained during a six-month period.

“Ascension continues to demonstrate its longstanding commitment to patient safety through efforts such as our ongoing participation with Partnership for Patients and AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality),” said Ann Hendrich RN, PhD, FAAN, senior VP, chief quality/safety and nursing officer for Ascension Health. “Our hospitals are leading the transformation of healthcare through implementing strategies that protect patients from avoidable harm and improve outcomes.”

The study was funded by AHRQ and coordinated by the Health Research and Educational Trust, with the support of faculty from the University of Michigan, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, the MHA Keystone Center, and Johns Hopkins Medicine Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality.

As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Ascension in FY2015 provided nearly $2 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Approximately 160,000 associates and 36,000 aligned providers serve in 2,500 sites of care – including 142 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia.

Related Articles Read More >

An illustration showing the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien M3 transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system's valve being placed in the heart. [Image courtesy of Edwards Lifesciences]
The top nitinol cardiac medtech news of 2025 (so far)
A photo showing the Dualto Energy System's modular design with two generators stacked for two users at a time.
What J&J MedTech’s new Dualto says about the OR of the future — and Ottava
An illustration showing the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien M3 transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system's valve being placed in the heart. [Image courtesy of Edwards Lifesciences]
Q&A with Darshin Patel, who led the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien M3 TMVR system’s development
A photo of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy used for medical devices such as stents, heart valves, catheters and orthopedics.
What is nitinol and where is it used?
“mdo
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest medical device business news, application and technology trends.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe