<p><strong>Introduction</strong> Every tenth patient in Sweden is affected by nosocomial infections. Among these, urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most frequently occurring within the hospital environment. Nosocomial infections lead to increasing costs for care, more suffering among the patients, increasing use of antibiotics, and longer treatment spells. The Academic hospital have engaged all wards in the so called VRISS-project (“nosocomial infections must be stopped”) in order to reduce the number of nosocomial infections.</p><p><strong>Aim</strong> In connection to the VRISS-project new routines for removal of uretrahl catheters are introduced at ward 70E2 at the Academic hospital. The new routines imply that the catheter should be removed during the first post-op day. According to the old routines the catheter was to be removed no later than on the third post-op day. The authors of this study choose to investigate whether the new routines for uretrahl catheter removal have any effect on the occurrence of nosocomial UTI’s.</p><p><strong>Methods </strong>The study is a restrospective record study with quantitative, descriptive design. 411 journals from 2007 (188) and 2009 (223) have been reviewed. All patients that underwent knee or hip operations during January, February, March, and April 2007 and 2009 are included in the sample.</p><p><strong>Results</strong> The study shows that the new routines at ward 70E2 had some, but not full, influence on the share of patients with nosocomial UTI. Among women under 71 years of age and men older than 70 years, the number of days with uretrahl catheter and the share of patients with nosocomial UTI have decreased. However, among the younger men (<71 years) and the older women (>70 years) no effects of the new routines are detected.</p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong> To summarize it can be concluded that the routines for how to use uretrahl catheters at ward 70E2 work fairly well. However, the results also show that the number of days with uretrahl catheter and the share of patients with nosocomial UTI among risk patients, above all among the older women, are the same in spite of the new routines for removal of uretrahl catheters. Thus, strategies for detecting risk patients in an early stage can be improved upon. Such measures can reduce the risk for nosocomial UTI among these patients.</p>

Introduction Every tenth patient in Sweden is affected by nosocomial infections. Among these, urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most frequently occurring within the hospital environment. Nosocomial infections lead to increasing costs for care, more suffering among the patients, increasing use of antibiotics, and longer treatment spells. The Academic hospital have engaged all wards in the so called VRISS-project (“nosocomial infections must be stopped”) in order to reduce the number of nosocomial infections. Aim In connection to the VRISS-project new routines for removal of uretrahl catheters are introduced at ward 70E2 at the Academic hospital. The new routines imply that the catheter should be removed during the first post-op day. According to the old routines the catheter was to be removed no later than on the third post-op day. The authors of this study choose to investigate whether the new routines for uretrahl catheter removal have any effect on the occurrence of nosocomial UTI’s. Methods The study is a restrospective record study with quantitative, descriptive design. 411 journals from 2007 (188) and 2009 (223) have been reviewed. All patients that underwent knee or hip operations during January, February, March, and April 2007 and 2009 are included in the sample. Results The study shows that the new routines at ward 70E2 had some, but not full, influence on the share of patients with nosocomial UTI. Among women under 71 years of age and men older than 70 years, the number of days with uretrahl catheter and the share of patients with nosocomial UTI have decreased. However, among the younger men (&lt;71 years) and the older women (&gt;70 years) no effects of the new routines are detected. Conclusion To summarize it can be concluded that the routines for how to use uretrahl catheters at ward 70E2 work fairly well. However, the results also show that the number of days with uretrahl catheter and the share of patients with nosocomial UTI among risk patients, above all among the older women, are the same in spite of the new routines for removal of uretrahl catheters. Thus, strategies for detecting risk patients in an early stage can be improved upon. Such measures can reduce the risk for nosocomial UTI among these patients.