Risk Factors for Urinary Tract Infection in Chronic Spinal Cord Injured Patients

Objective: To survey the method of bladder management and to evaluate the risk factor for urinary tract infection in chronic spinal cord injured patients. Method: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and interviewed 129 spinal cord injured patients who have been for at least 2 years. We obtained demographic characteristics, associated factors, methods of bladder management and frequency of urinary tract infections. Logistic regression analysis and analysis of variance were done to evaluate the risk factor for urinary tract infection. Results: The mean duration since spinal cord injury was 10.14 years. The method of bladder management was as follows: percussion and crede, valsalva maneuver (42.1%), clean intermittent catheterization (37.3%), combination of above 2 methods (9.4%), suprapubic catheter (4.7%), condom catheter (3.1%) and indwelling urethral catheter (2.3%). The overall incidence and frequency of urinary tract infection was 67.5%, 3.7 times/year respectively and was highest in indwelling urethral catheter group. The risk factors for urinary tract infection were age over 60, complete spinal cord injury (p <0.05). Conclusion: Complete spinal cord injury and old age are risk factors for urinary tract infection in chronic spinal cord injured patients. Incidence and frequency of urinary tract infection was affected by the method of bladder management.