What it means
A straight (intermittent) catheter is put in, drains the bladder and is taken out. An indwelling urinary catheterin-DWEL-ing YUR-ih-nair-ee KATH-uh-terA tube passed through the urethra into the bladder and left in place to drain urine into a bag.Full entry stays in, held by a small balloon. A suprapubic catheter enters the bladder through the lower belly, and external catheters fit over or against the outside of the body without entering it. The main risk of an inserted catheter is a urinary tract infection.
For the nurse
Insert with sterile technique. Keep the bag below the bladder and off the floor and the tubing free of kinks, give perineal care every day, and ask every day whether the catheter is still needed.
At a glance
| Spanish | sonda urinaria |
|---|---|
| Also written | urinary catheters |
Related terms
urinary tract infection
An infection anywhere in the urinary tract: the kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra.
indwelling urinary catheter
A tube passed through the urethra into the bladder and left in place to drain urine into a bag.
urinary retention
Being unable to empty the bladder completely, or at all.
catheter
A thin, flexible tube put into the body to drain fluid out or to put fluid or drugs in.