Assessing catheter-associated urinary tract infection prevention interventions in intensive care units: A discrete event simulation study

ABSTRACT

Current methods for addressing catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are mostly focused on the biological causes, emphasizing the adherence to prevention guidelines, collecting data and disseminating the results, as well as identifying emerging threats from infectious organisms. However, there is a need for tools that can help organizations to implement interventions in ways that maximize the benefits while minimizing the impact upon efficient operations. This research extends the current methods for addressing CAUTIs to a new level beyond the current state of practice by introducing a new discrete-event simulation model for system assessment and determination of the clinical efficacy of CAUTI preventive interventions. The simulation model provides a platform where proposed clinical interventions can be studied and analyzed; giving an idea of possible expectations before clinical research is conducted; saving time, money, and minimizing risks. The computational results provide useful insights into patient service management for CAUTI prevention and show that operational factors such as the nurse:bed ratio, catheter daily removal chance, and late maintenance risk have a significant impact in the intensive care unit CAUTI rate.

KEYWORDS:

• Catheter
• CAUTI
• HAI
• healthcare-associated infections
• process improvement
• simulation