Women with early-stage cervical cancer had significantly higher chances of developing catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) after radical hysterectomies if they were smokers or used a catheter for more than seven days post-surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found in a study.
The findings, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, may have implications for patients with cervical cancer, some uterine and ovarian cancers, and any gynecologic tumors that require a radical hysterectomy. The procedure is part of the treatment for early-stage cervical cancer, which remains the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in women between ages 20 and 39.
To identify CAUTI risk factors, researchers used institutional gynecologic oncology surgical and tumor databases to find patients who had a radical hysterectomy for early-stage cervical cancer between 2004 and 2020. After excluding patients with insufficient follow-up or records of catheter use, a urinary tract injury, or pre-surgery chemoradiation, they found 160 who met the study criteria – 12.5% of whom had developed CAUTIs. Some of the patients in the study were treated at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Using statistical analysis to identify independent risk factors, researchers found that current smokers and patients who had used a catheter for more than seven days had a significantly higher chance of developing CAUTIs.
