Reusable catheters are just as safe for patients as single-use ones and do not increase the risk of urinary tract infections, a new study has found.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people use the devices to empty their bladders as much as four times a day on average, and the plastic tubes are used just once before being discarded.<\/p>\n
Researchers from the University of Southampton followed hundreds of patients for a year to measure the health impact of reusable intermittent urinary catheters against single-use ones.<\/p>\n
They discovered that those who tested reusable catheters used 35 per cent fewer antibiotics compared to their single-use only counterparts.<\/p>\n
The landmark study, published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies, was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).<\/p>\n
Experts say the findings could save the NHS millions and cut down on thousands of tonnes of plastic waste produced each year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Until now, there has been a real lack of high-quality evidence to support the reuse of catheters.<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\nBut, with our study, we can say for the first time that it is a safe option to switch to reusable catheters.”<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\nMandy Fader, Lead Author, Professor,\u00a0School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton<\/p>\n
\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
For decades, patients in the UK have been strictly advised by healthcare professionals to use single-use catheters to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs), leaving no choice for those wanting to use the more green-friendly reusable options.<\/p>\n
The Southampton study followed 578 participants across a 12-month period, split into two groups \u2013 one of which stuck to single-use tubes.<\/p>\n
The other group, however, used both the reusable and single-use catheters, and were given a kit to wash them in soap and water, followed by a soak in chlorine solution.<\/p>\n
Scientists found 29 per cent of those in the mixed-use group had at least one UTI during the year, compared to about 34 per cent of those who used a fresh one each time.<\/p>\n
Study co-author Margaret Macaulay, also from Southampton, said: “The NHS is full of single-use products, and many healthcare professionals caution against reusable items because of the risk of infection.<\/p>\n
“However, our results clearly show that reusable catheters can and should be used by the NHS without increasing infection rates.<\/p>\n
“People should have the choice to switch depending on their lifestyle needs \u2013 and cut down on the throwaway culture in our health service.”<\/p>\n
According to the research team, around 100 million single-use catheters are prescribed by the NHS across the UK every year.<\/p>\n
They also found that cost of the single-use tubes to taxpayers has risen from \u00a322million in 1998 to around \u00a3200million in 2026.<\/p>\n
“A box of 30 single-use catheters can cost about \u00a350,” added Southampton Professor of Continence Cathy Murphy.<\/p>\n
“Reusable catheters in our trial cost less than 10p per use and can be reused for a month. If just 25 per cent of patients made the switch, the NHS could save millions.”<\/p>\n
Professor Marian Knight, NIHR Programme Director of Programme Grants for Applied Research said: “This study is a powerful example of how NIHR-funded research could lead to real-world impact, improving patient choice, saving the NHS millions, and reducing plastic waste.<\/p>\n
“These findings will give the NHS the evidence it needs to consider introducing reusable catheters.<\/p>\n
“It shows that thousands of people who use catheters every day could choose reusable catheters without concern about an increased risk of infection compared with single-use options, giving patients access to a more environmentally friendly choice.”<\/p>\n
Source:<\/p>\n
University of Southampton<\/a><\/p>\n
Journal reference:<\/p>\n
Fader, M., et al. (2026). Mixed (reusable\/single-use) catheter management versus single-use catheter management for intermittent catheter users (MultICath): A non-inferiority randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Nursing Studies. DOI: 10.1016\/j.ijnurstu.2026.105536.\u00a0https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0020748926002087?via%3Dihub<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reusable catheters are just as safe for patients as single-use ones and do not increase the risk of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[275],"tags":[76851,216208,18,135,475,474,19,17,38117,172],"class_list":["post-496534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-catheter","tag-catheters","tag-eire","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-nursing","tag-research"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116615110314585302","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}