Reduction of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections Through the Use of an Evidence-Based Nursing Algorithm and the Implementation of Shift Nursing Rounds A Quality Improvement Project

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are the most common hospital-acquired infections. The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to successfully implement a nurse-led evidence-based practice change designed to reduce CAUTIs in a cardiac intensive care and step-down unit. The QI project was implemented using a convenience sample of patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care and step-down unit. Evaluation data were collected 3 months preimplementation and 9 months postimplementation. We used Wick's Check-Plan-Do-Check-Act model of continuous QI to guide the project. A statistically significant change in the number of CAUTIs (P = .009) and CAUTI occurrences (P = .005) was observed following the intervention. The number of indwelling catheter days and indwelling catheter utilization did not significantly differ following implementation of the intervention. Nurse compliance with the intervention was computed for each month; the average compliance rate was 91%. Findings from this project indicate that a nurse-led evidence-based practice project exerted a positive influence on CAUTI occurrences.