People with spinal cord injuries rely on catheters to empty their bladder. When a well-respected publication concluded that catheters could be reused without an increased risk of infection, it didn't sit right with a Vancouver clinician and researcher. He had spoken to wheelchair athletes about this very issue while working at the Summer Paralympics in London.
"Wheelchair athletes from wealthier countries would only use each catheter once while athletes from developing countries would clean and reuse their catheters again and again," said Dr. Andrei Krassioukov, a professor of medicine at UBC and chair in rehabilitation research with ICORD. "The athletes who used catheters only once experienced three-to-four times fewer urinary tract infections than athletes who reused catheters."
Urinary tract infections can be disruptive to people's daily lives, resulting in time off work or from other activities. Antibiotics are prescribed to treat urinary tract infections. People with spinal cord injury are at higher risk for urinary tract infection.
The issue of whether people can reuse catheters or if they should be single-use has long been debated in the medical community. A catheter costs anywhere from $5 to $30 and people with spinal cord injuries use a new catheter every time they need to empty their bladder.
Around the world, and even within Canada, there are large differences in the coverage of costs for catheters. In some countries, like France, it is illegal to reuse catheters. In other places, countries cannot afford to cover the costs of single-use catheters.
Click here to read the full press release.
