A Preliminary Evaluation of Ovine Bladder Mucosal Damage Associated With 2 Different Indwelling Urinary Catheters

To determine whether a new catheter design with a low-profile, open-ended rounded rather than pointed Foley catheter tip can reduce mucosal damage to the bladder of ewes. Six ewes were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 indwelling urinary catheters—a 16 Fr Foley catheter or a 16 Fr open-tip CystoSure catheter. After 96 hours, all the animals were sacrificed and their bladder and urethra harvested for analysis. Image analysis of the bladder surfaces demonstrated a significant decrease in the percentage of bladder area covered by ulceration and inflammation in sheep with CystoSure catheters compared with Foley catheters (P