Golisano Children's Hospital / Quality / Improving Care & Safety / Catheter Urinary Tract Infection - CAUTI Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) Why This Measure is Important A urinary catheter is a thin tube that is inserted into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine when your child cannot urinate on his/her own. Infections can sometimes occur when bacteria travel around or through the tube and enter the urinary tract. CAUTIs can make patients sicker, extend hospital stays, and require treatment with antibiotics. These are all important reasons why we strive to reduce the risk and rate of these infections. The risk of infection increases with the number of days a catheter is used. Proper care during insertion and ongoing care of the foley catheter contributes significantly to the reduction of infections. The catheter should only be used when absolutely necessary. What You Can Do Always clean your and your child's hands before and after doing catheter care. Always keep your urine bag below the level of your child's bladder. Do not tug or pull on the tubing. Do not twist or kink the catheter tubing. Ask your healthcare provider each day if your child still needs the catheter. How We Measure The number of related infections per 1,000 catheter days. Each day your child has a catheter in place counts as one catheter line day. Our goal is to maintain infection rates lower than the national benchmark, ultimately driving towards zero. What We Are Doing to Improve Implemented a set of best practices, called bundles, to minimize the risk of these infections. Monitor and report proper hand washing practices for all health care staff. Participate in Solutions for Patient Safety, a national improvement collaborative focused on eliminating all patient harm by sharing ideas, data, and best practices among United States children’s hospitals. The healthcare team reviews if the catheter is needed every day and removes when no longer needed.