Risk factors for catheter‐associated urinary tract infection among hospitalized patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of observational studies

AIMS: The study aimed to identify the risk factors for catheter-associated urinary tract infection among hospitalized patients. We also tried to explore its potential effect on patient outcomes if possible. BACKGROUND: Catheter-associated urinary tract infection accounts for a large proportion of healthcare-associated infections and remains a considerable threat to patient safety worldwide. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. DATA SOURCES: We conducted an electronic search in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for studies published between January 2008-January 2018. REVIEW METHODS: Two reviewers searched the articles and extracted the data independently. The quality of the studies was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. RevMan 5.3 was used to perform the meta-analysis. RESULTS: Ten studies involving a total of 8785 participants with or without catheter-associated urinary tract infection were included. The average incidence of catheter-associated urinary tract infection was 13.79 per 1000 catheter days, with a prevalence rate of 9.33%. The meta-analysis demonstrated that patients at high risk for catheter-associated urinary tract infection were female, had a prolonged duration of catheterization, had diabetes, had previous catheterization, and had longer hospital and ICU stays. Additionally, catheter-associated urinary tract infection was also accompanied by an increase in mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare staff should focus on the identified risk factors for catheter-associated urinary tract infection. Further research is needed to investigate the microbial isolates and focus on the intervention strategies of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, so as to reduce its incidence and related mortality.