Indwelling catheter can increase postoperative urinary tract infection and may not be required in total joint arthroplasty: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial

Background

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA) require catheterization.

Methods

PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were systematically searched. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) receiving either a urinary catheterization or no urinary catheterization were included. Meta-analysis results were assessed by RevMan 5.3 software.

Results

Seven independent RCTs were included, with a total sample size of 1533 patients, including 750 patients in the indwelling catheter group and 783 patients in the none-indwelling catheter group. Our pooled data analysis indicated that patients in the indwelling catheter group had a higher risk of urinary tract infection than patients in the none-indwelling catheter group (RR, 3.21; P = 0.0003). However, the meta-analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of urinary retention (RR, 0.67; P = 0.13), duration of the surgery (MD, − 0.37; P = 0.55), and length of hospital stay (MD, 0.15; P = 0.38).

Conclusion

Based on the current evidence, this meta-analysis showed that urinary catheterization during TJA can increase the postoperative urinary tract infection, and it may not routinely be required for the patients undergoing TJA.

Level of evidence

Level I, therapeutic study.