This article describes a quality improvement project to decrease catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) at an academic medical center. A criteria-based, nurse-driven protocol for discontinuation of indwelling catheters and use of bladder ultrasonography in conjunction with intermittent catheterizations was the foundation for change. The CAUTI rate, the number of CAUTIs, cost of medications and supplies associated with treating CAUTIs, catheter duration, and intensive care unit length of stay decreased after protocol implementation.

Urinary incontinence impacts 15 to 35% of the adult ambulatory population. Men after the removal of the prostate for cancer can experience incontinence for several weeks to years after the surgery. Women experience incontinence related to many factors including childbirth, menopause and surgery. It is important that incontinence be treated since it impacts not only the physiological, but also the psychological realms of a person's life. Depression and decreed quality of life have been found to co-occur in the person struggling with incontinence.Interventions include pharmacological, surgical as well as behavioral interventions. Effective treatment of incontinence should include the use of clinical guidelines and research to promote treatment efficacy.