Traditional Foley drainage systems – do they drain the bladder?

Authors

Maurice M. Garcia, University of California, San Francisco
Shelly Gulati, University of California, BerkeleyFollow
Dorian Liepmann, University of California, Berkeley
G. Bennett Stackhouse, University of California, San Francisco
Kirsten Greene, University of California, San Francisco
Marshall L. Stoller, University of California, San FranciscoFollow

Department

Bioengineering

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Urology

ISSN

0022-5347

Volume

177

Issue

1

DOI

10.1016/j.juro.2006.08.101

First Page

203

Last Page

207

Publication Date

1-1-2007

Abstract

Purpose: Foley catheters are assumed to drain the bladder to completion. Drainage characteristics of Foley catheter systems are poorly understood. To investigate unrecognized retained urine with Foley catheter drainage systems, bladder volumes of hospitalized patients were measured with bladder scan ultrasound volumetrics. Additionally, an in vitro bench top mock bladder and urinary catheter system was developed to understand the etiology of such residual volumes. A novel drainage tube design that optimizes indwelling catheter drainage was also designed.

Materials and Methods: Bedside bladder ultrasound volumetric studies were performed on patients hospitalized in ward and intensive care unit. If residual urine was identified the drainage tubing was manipulated to facilitate drainage. An ex vivo bladder-urinary catheter model was designed to measure flow rates and pressures within the drainage tubing of a traditional and a novel drainage tube system.

Results: A total of 75 patients in the intensive care unit underwent bladder ultrasound volumetrics. Mean residual volume was 96 ml (range 4 to 290). In 75 patients on the hospital ward mean residual volume was 136 ml (range 22 to 647). In the experimental model we found that for every 1 cm in curl height, obstruction pressure increased by 1 cm H2O within the artificial bladder. In contrast, the novel spiral-shaped drainage tube demonstrated rapid (0.5 cc per second), continuous and complete (100%) reservoir drainage in all trials.

Conclusions: Traditional Foley catheter drainage systems evacuate the bladder suboptimally. Outflow obstruction is caused by air-locks that develop within curled redundant drainage tubing segments. The novel drainage tubing design eliminates gravity dependent curls and associated air-locks, optimizes flow, and minimizes residual bladder urine.

Recommended Citation

Garcia, M. M., Gulati, S., Liepmann, D., Stackhouse, G. B., Greene, K., & Stoller, M. L. (2007). Traditional Foley drainage systems – do they drain the bladder?. Journal of Urology, 177(1), 203–207. DOI: 10.1016/j.juro.2006.08.101
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/soecs-facarticles/53