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Although nearly one third of healthcare-associated infections involve the urinary tract, such infections receive less attention than do bacteremia or pneumonia because of the perception that they have little effect on patient outcomes. Now, investigators have analyzed data from >170,000 Medicare patients to determine whether prolonged use of urinary catheters after cardiac, vascular, orthopedic, or gastrointestinal surgery is associated with increased 30-day risk for readmission because of urinary tract infection (UTI) or for death. Using a cohort design, they compared patients with and without urinary catheters in place at the time of transfer to skilled nursing facilities.
After adjustment for multiple patient factors, including age, sex, …