• Brenda Richards, Bindhu Sebastian, Hillary Sullivan, Rosemarie Reyes, John F D'Agostino, and Thomas Hagerty.
• Brenda Richards is a registered nurse in the neurological intensive care unit at New York Presbyterian Hospital - Columbia Campus, New York, New York.
• Crit Care Nurse. 2017 Jun 1; 37 (3): 42-48.

BackgroundCatheter-associated urinary tract infections are preventable adverse outcomes that increase hospital morbidity, mortality, and costs. These infections are particularly prevalent in intensive care units.ObjectivesTo describe the success of an 18-bed neurological intensive care unit in using several nurse-implemented strategies that reduced the number of catheter-associated urinary tract infections.MethodsA prospective, interventional design with application of evidence-based practices to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections was used.ResultsBefore implementation of the strategies, 40 catheter-associated urinary tract infections were reported for 2012 and 38 for 2013. The standardized infection ratio was 2.04 for 2012 (95% CI, 1.456-2.775) and 2.34 (95% CI, 1.522-3.312) for 2013. After implementation of the strategies, significantly fewer catheter-associated urinary tract infections were reported. In 2014, a total of 15 infections were reported, and the standardized infection ratio was less than 1.0 (95% CI, 0.685-1.900).ConclusionsApplication of current evidence-based practices resulted in a substantial decrease in the number of catheter-associated urinary tract infections and a lower standardized infection ratio. These findings support current recommendations for "bundling" to maximize outcomes.©2017 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

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