Prolonged Indwelling Foley Catheter Use in Post-operative Gynecology Patient Associated with an Increased Incidence of Urinary Tract Infections

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the common conditions and significantly contributes to expensive health treatment and associated with gynecological surgery which increases the cases up to 50% in women undergoing specific reconstructive procedures. Besides that, one indicator of surgical quality was post-operative UTI occurrence. AIM: This study aims to assess the relationship between Foley catheter usage and UTIs after gynecological surgery with a urinary catheter. METHODS: A total of 48 subjects examined at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Universitas Sumatera Utara Hospital, and Haji Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan, from June to September 2020. Subjects were performed urinalysis 8 days after surgery, or earlier if UTI symptoms occur. Personal data and illness data were taken from medical records. Statistical analysis was done using the Chi-square-based test. RESULTS: There was a significant difference of urine leukocytes in subjects with indwelled catheter for 24–36 h compared to subjects with 36–48 h of catheterization (p = 0.01). The 36–48 h group has a 2.15 odds of developing UTI compared to 24–36 h group (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: This study found that prolonged indwelling Foley catheter usage may increase the risk of UTI after gynecology surgery.