A cross‐sectional study of the catheter management of neurogenic bladder after traumatic spinal cord injury

Abstract

Aims: This cross-sectional study describes the catheter management of neurogenic bladder (NGB) in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) with emphasis on the motivations behind transitions between intermittent (IC) and indwelling catheters. Methods: Patients at the Minneapolis VA with history of tSCI who utilized either intermittent catheterization (IC), urethral (UC) or suprapubic (SP) catheters, participated in a voluntary, anonymous survey regarding their bladder management strategies. Results: A total of 100 patients participated, 94% were male and 90% Caucasian with median age of 61 years. Patients with current UC or SP were older than those utilizing IC (P = 0.002). The median age at injury and years since SCI were 32 years and 20.5 years, respectively. The median time with current modality was 11 years. A total of 27% of all patients reported at least one transition between catheter type. A total of 14 of 54 patients using IC had prior use of UC or SP, while 12/25 patients using SP and 10/21 patients using UC had prior use of IC. The most common reasons to stop IC included inconvenience, physician recommendation, and dislike of IC. A total of 53% of patients currently using UC or SP reported never using IC. Patients currently using SP were more content with their current catheterization method than those using UC or IC (P = 0.046). Conclusions: Among patients using catheters for NGB, intermittent catheterization

Predictors of low urinary quality of life in spinal cord injury patients on clean intermittent catheterization

“…Patients who discontinue CIC have reported inconvenience, dislike of CIC, recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), incontinence, urethral strictures, and dependence on caregiver as the most common reasons to switch bladder management in small single-center reports. 3,5 A survey of 269 patients found that men who are not able to perform CIC cited limited hand function as the most common reason, while women reported inability to sit appropriately for CIC, with limited hand function being the second most common reason that required caregiver assistance with CIC. 6 Considering the low proportion of patients on longterm CIC despite the potential benefits there is a need to understand and address patient-reported barriers to satisfaction with CIC.…”

Reasons for cessation of clean intermittent catheterization after spinal cord injury: Results from the Neurogenic Bladder Research Group spinal cord injury registry

“…11 Recently, inconvenience with the frequency and time required to catheterize and dislike of the treatment modality has been associated with treatment transitions. 12,13 However, other than these small studies, there is very little that is known about patient-reported factors associated with dissatisfaction with CIC and the quality of life (QoL) among individuals that have discontinued CIC. Crescenze et al 14 showed that female sex, earlier injury, recurrent UTIs, and severe bowel dysfunction were associated with dissatisfaction and worse QoL among SCI individuals currently performing CIC.…”

Effectiveness of rehabilitation training combined acupuncture for the treatment of neurogenic bladder secondary to spinal cord injury

“…[14] These managements often consist of catheterization approaches, medication, surgery, electrical stimulation, Chinese herbal medicine, moxibustion, acupuncture, and rehabilitation training (RT). [15–21] However, there is still insufficient efficacy for such single intervention. Fortunately, previous studies have reported that patients with NB secondary to SCI can benefit from the treatment of acupuncture combined RT.…”