Foley catheter system

Ideally urine samples for culture should be obtained by removing the indwelling catheter and obtaining a midstream specimen. If ongoing catheterization is needed, ideally the catheter should be replaced prior to collecting a urine sample for culture, to avoid culturing bacteria present in the biofilm of the catheter but not in the bladder. Many systems have a "needleless" site that can be cleansed prior to specimen collection. If a sample is being collected without catheter removal, urine should be obtained from the port in the drainage system. For circumstances in which the above approaches are not possible, the culture should be obtained by separating the catheter from the drainage system. Although this approach is associated with some risk of introducing microbes into the closed system, culture results from urine collected from the drainage bag cannot be used to guide treatment.