Abstract / Summary
To evaluate the practicality, feasibility, and self-reported patient outcomes of catheter self-removal post prostatectomy in the Stokes Centre for Urology, Royal Surrey County Hospital using a survey-based evaluation. Five hundred men were invited to take part in a survey assessing patient-reported outcomes of catheter self-removal post prostatectomy at the Royal Surrey. Patients underwent Robotic-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy (RARP) and were given either urethral or suprapubic catheters. Patients had access to educational resources to support them before self-removal. Afterwards, patients were surveyed, and their responses were compiled and analysed in Microsoft Excel. Some of the patients were invited to a focus group to discuss their experiences in more depth. Two hundred eighty nine out of the 500 men (57.8%) invited participated in the survey. The comfort of being at home (59.87%) and convenience were reasons provided for partaking in self-removal. Nearly 79% of respondents reported the process to be painless or mildly uncomfortable. There was no correlation between catheter type and pain level. Over three-quarters of respondents reported that they felt “confident” to “very confident” about self-removal, highlighting that the resources provided were of adequate quality. Side effects were found to be lower in this group of patients than the average expected infection rate after removal in clinic. For some patients undergoing RARP, self-removal of their urinary catheter can be a safe and beneficial initiative, which saves money on travel and time for the patient. Additionally, it can reduce clinic appointments within their hospital, allowing nurses time to focus on more complex aspects of patient care.