Catheter-associated urinary tract infections: challenges and opportunities for the application of systems engineering

In the United States about 100,000 people die annually from healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) are the second most common type of HAI in the US, accounting for about 15% of HAIs. CAUTIs pose a significant treat to patients, which consequences could be as minor as an extra day in the hospital or as serious as death. Although studies show that implementing best practices and educating healthcare workers can help prevent HAIs, CAUTI prevention continues to pose a challenge to healthcare quality. Therefore, decreasing CAUTI rates has been targeted as one of the focus areas for several healthcare national initiatives. This survey paper considers research published from 2004 to 2015 on risk factors associated with CAUTIs and current preventive interventions. The goal of the survey is to provide a comprehensive taxonomy that aggregates and compare studies on CAUTIs and to identify future research opportunities for the development of system interventions that can be used to manage CAUTIs.