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If you do start urinating, intermittent catheterization is done to release the remaining urine from the bladder and measure the amount of urine left in the bladder after you urinated. Ideally, there should be no urine left in the bladder when the catheter is removed. However, most people have some residual urine. The amount of residual urine will be measured routinely until the amount is as low as possible. Your doctor will tell you what is safe. Residuals are checked periodically as long as you are in the hospital and also after you go home. At the start of rehabilitation, intermittent catheterization is routinely done on all patients every 4 to 6 hours. As you improve and your bladder empties better, intermittent catheterization for residual urine will change from every 4 to 6 hours, to every 8 to 12 hours. One of the goals of the intermittent catheterization program is to promote sterile urine, i.e. urine that has no evidence of bacterial growth. For this reason, a no-touch, sterile, or "clean" technique is used.
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Methods of Urinary Tract Management
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