A Program for the Bacteriologic Monitoring of Indwelling Urinary Catheters

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Abstract
A program utilizing the hospital computer is described for the bacteriologic monitoring of all indwelling urinary catheters in a 600-bed community hospital. A urine specimen is obtained for culture upon insertion of the catheter and the urine is cultured daily until it becomes infected with bacteria. Patients whose urine specimens contain over 105 per ml. of bacteria are monitored on a set schedule, with the organism being identified and drug sensitivities determined whenever the infecting organism changes. The computer is used to generate a daily report for each patient’s chart, the daily worksheet, and labels for obtaining the daily cultures. The cultures are automatically made once an indwelling catheter is instituted. All patient charges are made by the computer. The computer program permits retrieval of data for the evaluation of the efficacy of various types of prophylaxis and therapy. The computer also allows us to monitor the frequency, time, and type of infection.

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