Urinary Tract Infection Paper

An infection that involves the urethra, uterus, kidney and bladder is considered to be a urinary tract infection, or UTI (CDC, 2015). Normally, bacteria do not live in those areas, but if the bacterium does come in contact with those areas, an infection will occur. Symptoms of a urinary tract infection include burning sensations, pain in the lower abdomen, an increase in the frequency of urination and occasionally bloody urine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a thin tube that is placed in the bladder to drain urine is known as a urinary catheter. When a urinary catheter is placed in the bladder, the urine channels through the tube in a bag that then collects the urine. “Urinary catheters may be used if you are not able to urinate on your own, to measure the amount of urine that is made, during and after some types of surgery and during some tests of the kidneys and bladder” (CDC, 2015, 3 Paragraph). If a urinary catheter is present, bacteria can travel alongside the catheter and infect the bladder or kidneys, which is known as a catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) (CDC, …show more content…
The purpose of this paper is to distinguish why catheter-associated urinary tract infections increase medical costs for hospital organizations, how they are acquired and their symptoms, and how it is a preventable infection when the proper procedures