Intermittent catheterisation: the common complications

Intermittent catheterisation (IC) has been in practice for more than 40 years and is considered the gold standard in the management of urinary retention in the neurological bladder. IC has many advantages over indwelling urethral or suprapubic catheterisation, including reducing the risk of infection, protecting the bladder and improving quality of life. However, complications can be caused by the practice of this technique, the most common of which is infection. This review discusses some of the common complications that can occur with the use of intermittent catheterisation, including urinary tract infection (UTIs) and urethral complications. It also highlights the role of the nurse in the management of its complications.

Intermittent Catheterization Adherence Scale (ICAS): Italian translation, cultural adaptation and validation

The study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Intermittent Catheteri-zation Adherence Scale (ICAS) in Italian for people with Spina bifida and spinal cord injury. The population consisted of adults who practice self-catheterization, recruited through online questionnaire google docs. The ICAS was translated and culturally adapted following international guidelines. The test was administered together with the Italian version of Qualiveen-30 for quality of life related to practice self-catheterization, Spinal Cord Independence Measure self-report (SCIM-SR) for independence in activities of daily living, Moorong self-efficacy scale (MSES) for self-efficacy. The ICAS was administered two times within a week, in order to assess test-retest reliability. Its psychometric properties were evaluated according to international guidelines. After the translation and cultural adaptation processes, all items were either identical or similar to the 34 study participants. For internal consistency, Cronbach’ alpha showed values of 0.845; has been obtained from the analysis of individual’s answers for each item; interclass correlation coefficient showed values of 0.995; has been obtained from analysis of the answers individuals gave each subscale after a week. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient showed statistically significant correlations; has been obtained for the comparation of ICAS with Qualiveen-30 and SCIM-SR. The validation of ICAS in Italian allows professionals to work with self-catheterization for people with neurological bladder to face psychological barriers before learning about the Clean Intermittent Self Catheterization (CISC), improving patients’ adherence to it. Adherence is the basis of CISC since, if this is not carried out according to the prescription, various types of bladder problems may arise. At the same time, the ICAS can be used for the medical follow-up of people using intermittent self-catheterization techniques and finally for medical research.

Suprapubic catheter change, what could go wrong?

Some patients with neurological bladder dysfunction rely on suprapubic catheters (SPCs) for the management of their urinary symptoms. These catheters are usually changed without incident. However, problems can, and do, arise. We present the case of a 56-year-old woman who had a SPC change which was complicated by the catheter perforating the bladder and inflating in the vagina.