Spinal cord injury (SIC) rests as one of the most overwhelming conditions affecting trauma patients. After the patient completes the acute phase of injury management, rigorous monitoring follows to avoid the development of countless complications associated with the disease. Urinary tract infections are among the most common complications stemming from the traumatic SCI. This paper, therefore, seeks to develop a PICO analysis of the diseases.
PICO
In high-risk patients, how does the use of silver-alloy coated silicone catheters compared to latex indwelling catheters reduce incidences of catheter-associated urinary tract infections?
Population
The study examines the population of patients with cervical spinal cord injury with urinary tract infections. These patients are often at higher risk of developing severe diseases if not given the right treatment on time (Banaszek et al., 2020). Therefore, this raises concerns about the best treatment methods to effectively suppress tract infections, notwithstanding taking into consideration the welfare of the patients.
Intervention
After identifying acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury, a study was conducted to intervene in the effective management of the tract infections. A section of the patients received the normal standard latex indwelling catheter (LIC), while the others were administered with silver-alloy coated silicone catheters (Banaszek et al., 2020). A data review followed this to monitor the effectiveness of the practice change to determine its impact on patient outcomes.
Comparison
In order to properly come out with a genuine result, the LIC was used in treating the high-risk control group, while the same criteria were applied in the intervention group with SACC. The patients were monitored through their inpatient stay, during which they were evaluated for any symptoms of urinary tract infections (Banaszek et al., 2020). The research revealed a positive and supportive outcome in the use of SACC as compared to LIC.
Outcome
The research revealed that out of the Patients who were administered with SACC, the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection was only 19% compared to LIC, which had a rate of 38%. Additionally, the secondary outcomes included the safety profile with the silver-coated catheters in terms of adverse event occurrence (Banaszek et al., 2020). Thus, the analysis shows that SACC is an effective measure for treating urinary tract infections. In recommendation, physicians and nurses need to prevent inappropriate short-term catheter use. At the same time, physicians in collaboration with the government should do further research to determine a set of standardized care practices in the treatment of high-risk patients.
Reference
Banaszek, D., Inglis, T., Ritchie, L., Belanger, L., Ailon, T., Charest-Morin, R., & Street, J. T. (2020). Effectiveness of silver alloy–coated silicone urinary catheters in patients with acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury: Results of a quality improvement initiative. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 78, 135-138.