General anesthesia: to catheterize or not? A prospective randomized controlled study of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty

J Arthroplasty. 2015 Mar;30(3):502-6. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2014.09.028. Epub 2014 Oct 2.

Abstract

This study was to investigate whether urinary catheterization could be avoided for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) under general anesthesia with saphenous nerve block. 314 patients from a single surgical team were randomized to receive either an indwelling urinary catheter or no urinary catheter before the surgery. The results revealed that the prevalence of postoperative urinary retention (POUR) was quite low in both groups (5.7% vs 6.4%, P=1). Additionally, the prevalence of urinary tract infection was significantly higher in patients using an indwelling catheter (5.1% vs 0.6%, P=0.036). We also identified age, male gender, ASA grade, benign prostatic hypertrophy, intraoperative intravenous fluid and duration of surgery as the risk factors for POUR in these patients.

Keywords: general analgesia; postoperative urinary retention; risk factors; total knee arthroplasty; urinary tract infection.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Anesthesia, General / adverse effects*
  • Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee*
  • Catheters, Indwelling / adverse effects
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nerve Block
  • Osteoarthritis, Knee / surgery*
  • Prospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Urinary Catheterization / adverse effects*
  • Urinary Retention / etiology
  • Urinary Retention / prevention & control
  • Urinary Tract Infections / etiology