The Role of Intraoperative Urinary Catheters on Postoperative Urinary Retention after Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Multi-Hospital Retrospective Study on 9,580 Patients

BACKGROUND: Urinary catheters (UC) are used by some surgeons during total joint arthroplasty (TJA). This study investigated the impact of intraoperative urinary catheters on postoperative urinary retention (POUR) following TJA cases. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective comparative study across 11 medical centers on 9,580 TJA patients. Visits to urgent care or the emergency department within 7 and 30 postoperative days were reviewed. Medical records over a 12-month period for all patients older than 18 years old were used to gather demographic and surgical data as well as the incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI). Chi-squared tests (RStudio) were used to determine statistical significance against P-Values (P) < 0.05. RESULTS: 13 (0.14%) patients returned within 7 days for POUR. POUR was more common in males [10 (0.3%) vs. 3 (0.1%) females, (P = 0.01)]. There was no difference in POUR when comparing total hip and knee arthroplasty procedures [0.16% vs. 0.12%, (P = 0.60)]. Of all operations, 25% had intraoperative UC use. There was no difference in POUR between the UC and no UC groups [0.21 vs. 0.11%, (P = 0.26)]. However, there was an increase in UTI in UC vs. no UC use within 7 postoperative days [0.92 vs. 0.43%, (P = 0.005)] and 30 postoperative days [2.60 vs. 1.50 %, (P < 0.001)]. CONCLUSION: In our study, there was no difference in POUR rates between the intraoperative UC vs. no UC groups. Therefore, the use of intraoperative UC may not decrease the rate of POUR following TJA procedures. Additionally, UTI risk was higher in the UC group which may be attributable to other factors, especially when comparing female vs. male patients.