Traditional Foley Drainage Systems – Do They Drain The Bladder?
UroToday.com- It is assumed that Foley catheter systems continuously and completely empty the bladder. Beside observations and tubing manipulation that cause a sudden rush of urine flow suggests otherwise. Catherized patients often describe intermittent periods of the sensation of bladder fullness, especially after remaining in bed for prolonged periods. Such complaints often resolve immediately after simple up and down manipulation of the drainage tube to initiate drainage of urine into the drainage bag. To test the hypothesis that bladder residual volumes occur in the absence of obvious causes of obstruction, a recent study by M. Garcia, M. Stoller and colleagues from San Francisco utilized bedside bladder ultrasonography to measure early morning bladder urine volumes in patients with indwelling urinary catheters. A bladder model was then developed and a novel drainage tubing system was designed and tested which drains the bladder more completely and efficiently than the traditional
