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Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) Event
Introduction: The urinary tract is the most common site of healthcare-associated
infection, accounting for more than 30% of infections reported by acute care hospitals1.
Virtually all healthcare- associated urinary tract infections (UTIs) are caused by
instrumentation of the urinary tract.
CAUTI can lead to such complications as cystitis, pyelonephritis, gram-negative
bacteremia, prostatitis, epididymitis, and orchitis in males and, less commonly,
endocarditis, vertebral osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, endophthalmitis, and meningitis in
all patients. Complications associated with CAUTI cause discomfort to the patient,
prolonged hospital stay, and increased cost and mortality. Each year, more than 13,000
deaths are associated with UTIs.1
Prevention of CAUTIs is discussed in the CDC/HICPAC document, Guideline for
Prevention of Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infections2.
Settings: Surveillance will occur in any inpatient locations where denominator data can
be collected, which may include critical intensive care units (ICU), specialty care areas
(SCA), stepdown units, and long term care wards. Neonatal units are NOT included. A
complete listing of inpatient locations can be found in Chapter 15.
NOTE: It is not required to monitor for CAUTIs after the patient is discharged from the
facility, however, if discovered, they should be reported to NHSN. No additional
indwelling catheter days are reported.
Requirements: Surveillance for CAUTI is performed in at least one inpatient location in
the healthcare institution for at least one calendar month as indicated in the Patient Safety
Monthly Reporting Plan (CDC 57.106).
Definitions: As for all infections reported to NHSN, infections associated with
complications or extensions of infections already present on admission, unless a change
in pathogen or symptoms strongly suggests the acquisition of a new infection area not
considered healthcare associated. Therefore, infections that become apparent within the
first few days of admission must be carefully reviewed to determine whether they should
be considered healthcare associated.
Urinary tract infections (UTI) are defined using symptomatic urinary tract infection
(SUTI) criteria or Asymptomatic Bacteremic UTI (ABUTI) criteria (Table 1 and Figure
1). Report UTIs that are catheter-associated (i.e. patient had an indwelling urinary
catheter at the time of or within 48 hours before onset of the event).

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NOTES:
1. There is no minimum period of time that the catheter must be in place in order for
the UTI to be considered catheter-associated. EXAMPLE: Patient has a Foley
catheter in place on an inpatient unit. It is discontinued, and 4 days later patient
meets the criteria for a UTI. This is not reported as a CAUTI because the time
since Foley discontinuation exceeds 48 hours.
2. SUTI 1b and 2b and other UTI (OUTI) cannot be catheter-associated.
Location of attribution: The location where the patient was assigned on the date of the
UTI event, which is further defined as the date when the first clinical evidence appeared
or the date the specimen use to meet the criterion was collected, whichever came first.
EXAMPLE: Patient who had no clinical signs or symptoms of UTI upon arrival to the
Emergency Department, has a Foley catheter inserted there before being admitted to the
MICU. Within 24 hours of admission to the MICU, patient meets criteria for UTI. This
is reported to the NHSN as a CAUTI for the MICU, because the Emergency Department
is not an inpatient location and no denominator data are collected there.
TRANSFER RULE EXCEPTION: If a CAUTI develops within 48 hours of transfer from
one inpatient location to another in the same facility, or a new facility, the infection is
attributed to the transferring location. This is called the Transfer Rule and examples are
shown below.
Patient with a Foley catheter in place in the SICU is transferred to the surgical ward.
Thirty six (36) hours later, the patient meets the criteria for UTI. This is reported to
NHSN as a CAUTI for the SICU.
Patient is transferred to the medical ward from the MSICU after having the Foley
catheter removed. Within 24 hours, patient meets criteria for a UTI. This is reported
to NHSN as a CAUTI for the MSICU.
Patient with a Foley catheter in place is transferred from the medical ward to the
coronary care ICU (CCU). After 4 days in the CCU, the patient meets the criteria for
UTI. This is reported to NHSN as a CAUTI for the CCU.
EXAMPLE: Patient on the urology ward of Hospital A had the Foley catheter
removed and is discharged home a few hours later. The ICP from Hospital B calls
the next day to report that this patient has been admitted to Hospital B with a UTI.
This CAUTI should be reported to NHSN for Hospital A and attributed to the urology
ward.
Indwelling catheter: a drainage tube that is inserted into the urinary bladder through the
urethra, is left in place, and is connected to a closed collection system; also called a Foley
catheter; does not include straight in-and-out catheters.
Numerator Data: The Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Form (CDC 57.114) is used to
collect and report each CAUTI that is identified during the month selected for
surveillance. The Instructions for Completion of Urinary Tract Infection Form (Tables
of Instructions, Tables 5 and 2a) includes brief instructions for collection and entry of

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each data element on the form. The UTI form includes patient demographic information
and information on whether or not an indwelling urinary catheter was present. Additional
data include the specific criteria met for identifying the UTI, whether the patient
developed a secondary bloodstream infection, whether the patient died, and the
organisms isolated from cultures and their antimicrobial susceptibilities.
Denominator data: Device days and patient days are used for denominators (See
Chapter 16 Key Terms). Indwelling urinary catheter days, which are the number of
patients with an indwelling urinary catheter device, are collected daily, at the same time
each day, according to the chosen location using the appropriate form (CDC 57.117, and
57.118). When denominator data are available from electronic databases, these sources
may be used as long as the counts are not substantially different (+/- 5%) from manually
collected counts. These daily counts are summed and only the total for the month is
entered into NHSN. Indwelling urinary catheter days and patient days are collected
separately for each of the locations monitored.
Data Analyses: The SIR is calculated by dividing the number of observed infections by
the number of expected infections. The number of expected infections, in the context of
statistical prediction, is calculated using CAUTI rates from a standard population during
a baseline time period as reported in the NHSN Report.
NOTE: The SIR will be calculated only if the number of expected HAIs (numExp) is
≥ 1.

While the CAUTI SIR can be calculated for single locations, the measure also allows you
to summarize your data by multiple locations, adjusting for differences in the incidence
of infection among the location types. For example, you will be able to obtain one
CAUTI SIR adjusting for all locations reported. Similarly, you can obtain one CAUTI
SIR for all specialty care areas in your facility.
The CAUTI rate per 1000 urinary catheter days is calculated by dividing the number of
CAUTIs by the number of catheter days and multiplying the result by 1000. The Urinary
Catheter Utilization Ratio is calculated by dividing the number of urinary catheter days
by the number of patient days. These calculations will be performed separately for the
different types of ICUs, specialty care areas, and other locations in the institution, except
for neonatal locations.
1

Klevens RM, Edward JR, et al. Estimating health care-associated infections and deaths in U.S. hospitals,
2002. Public Health Reports 2007;122:160-166.
2
Gould CV, Umscheid CA, Agarwal RK, Kuntz G, Pegues DA. Guideline for prevention of catheterassociated urinary tract infections 2009. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2010;31(4):319-26.

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Table 1: Urinary Tract Infection Criteria

Criterion

1a

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Symptomatic Urinary Tract Infection (SUTI)
Must meet at least 1 of the following criteria
Patient had an indwelling urinary catheter in place at the time of specimen
collection
and
at least 1 of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized cause:
fever (>38°C), suprapubic tenderness, or costovertebral angle pain or tenderness
and
a positive urine culture of ≥105 colony-forming units (CFU)/ml with no more than
2 species of microorganisms.
----------------------------------------------------OR-------------------------------------------

1b

2a

Patient had indwelling urinary catheter removed within the 48 hours prior to
specimen collection
and
at least 1 of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized cause:
fever (>38°C), urgency, frequency, dysuria, suprapubic tenderness, or
costovertebral angle pain or tenderness
and
a positive urine culture of ≥105 colony-forming units (CFU)/ml with no more than
2 species of microorganisms.
Patient did not have an indwelling urinary catheter in place at the time of
specimen collection nor within 48 hours prior to specimen collection
and
has at least 1 of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized cause:
fever (>38°C) in a patient that is ≤65 years of age, urgency, frequency, dysuria,
suprapubic tenderness, or costovertebral angle pain or tenderness
and
a positive urine culture of ≥105 CFU/ml with no more than 2 species of
microorganisms.
Patient had an indwelling urinary catheter in place at the time of specimen
collection
and
at least 1 of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized cause:
fever (>38°C), suprapubic tenderness, or costovertebral angle pain or tenderness
and
a positive urinalysis demonstrated by at least 1 of the following findings:
a. positive dipstick for leukocyte esterase and/or nitrite

b. pyuria (urine specimen with ≥10 white blood cells [WBC]/mm3 of unspun
urine or ≥3 WBC/high power field of spun urine)

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Criterion

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
c. microorganisms seen on Gram stain of unspun urine
and
a positive urine culture of ≥103 and <105 CFU/ml with no more than 2 species of
microorganisms.
----------------------------------------------------OR------------------------------------------Patient had indwelling urinary catheter removed within the 48 hours prior to
specimen collection
and
at least 1 of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized cause:
fever (>38°C), urgency, frequency, dysuria, suprapubic tenderness, or
costovertebral angle pain or tenderness
and
a positive urinalysis demonstrated by at least 1 of the following findings:
a. positive dipstick for leukocyte esterase and/or nitrite

b. pyuria (urine specimen with ≥10 white blood cells [WBC]/mm3 of unspun
urine or ≥3 WBC/high power field of spun urine)
c. microorganisms seen on Gram stain of unspun urine

2b

and
a positive urine culture of ≥103 and <105 CFU/ml with no more than 2 species of
microorganisms.
Patient did not have an indwelling urinary catheter in place at the time of
specimen collection nor within 48 hours prior to specimen collection
and
has at least 1 of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized cause:
fever (>38°C) in a patient that is ≤65 years of age, urgency, frequency, dysuria,
suprapubic tenderness, or costovertebral angle pain or tenderness
and
a positive urinalysis demonstrated by at least 1 of the following findings:
a. positive dipstick for leukocyte esterase and/or nitrite

b. pyuria (urine specimen with ≥10 WBC/mm3 of unspun urine or ≥3
WBC/high power field of spun urine)
c. microorganisms seen on Gram stain of unspun urine
and
a positive urine culture of ≥103 and <105 CFU/ml with no more than 2 species of
microorganisms.
3

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Patient ≤1 year of age with or without an indwelling urinary catheter has at least 1
of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized cause: fever (>38°C
core), hypothermia (<36°C core), apnea, bradycardia, dysuria, lethargy, or
vomiting
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Criterion

4

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
and
a positive urine culture of ≥105 CFU/ml with no more than 2 species of
microorganisms.
Patient ≤1 year of age with or without an indwelling urinary catheter has at least 1
of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized cause: fever (>38°C
core), hypothermia (<36°C core), apnea, bradycardia, dysuria, lethargy, or
vomiting
and
a positive urinalysis demonstrated by at least one of the following findings:
a. positive dipstick for leukocyte esterase and/or nitrite

b. pyuria (urine specimen with ≥10 WBC/mm3 of unspun urine or ≥3
WBC/high power field of spun urine)
c. microorganisms seen on Gram’s stain of unspun urine
and
a positive urine culture of between ≥103 and <105 CFU/ml with no more than two
species of microorganisms.
Criterion

Asymptomatic Bacteremic Urinary Tract Infection (ABUTI)

Patient with or without an indwelling urinary catheter has no signs or symptoms
(i.e., for any age patient, no fever (>38°C), urgency, frequency, dysuria,
suprapubic tenderness, or costovertebral angle pain or tenderness, OR for a
patient ≤1 year of age, no fever (>38°C core), hypothermia (<36°C core), apnea,
bradycardia, dysuria, lethargy, or vomiting)
and
a positive urine culture of >105 CFU/ml with no more than 2 species of uropathogen
microorganisms*

and
a positive blood culture with at least 1 matching uropathogen microorganism to
the urine culture, or at least 2 matching blood cultures drawn on separate
occasions if the matching pathogen is a common skin contaminant.
* Uropathogen microorganisms are: Gram-negative bacilli, Staphylococcus spp.,
yeasts, beta-hemolytic Streptococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., G. vaginalis,
Aerococcus urinae,and Corynebacterium (urease positive).
Comments
Urinary catheter tips should not be cultured and are not acceptable for the
diagnosis of a urinary tract infection.
Urine cultures must be obtained using appropriate technique, such as clean
catch collection or catheterization. Specimens from indwelling catheters
should be aspirated through the disinfected sampling ports.
In infants, urine cultures should be obtained by bladder catheterization or
suprapubic aspiration; positive urine cultures from bag specimens are
unreliable and should be confirmed by specimens aseptically obtained by
catheterization or suprapubic aspiration.

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Criterion

Criterion

1
2
3

4

Comment

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Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Urine specimens for culture should be processed as soon as possible,
preferably within 1 to 2 hours. If urine specimens cannot be processed within
30 minutes of collection, they should be refrigerated, or inoculated into
primary isolation medium before transport, or transported in an appropriate
urine preservative. Refrigerated specimens should be cultured within 24 hours.
Urine specimen labels should indicate whether or not the patient is
symptomatic.
Report secondary bloodstream infection = “Yes” for all cases of
Asymptomatic Bacteremic Urinary Tract Infection (ABUTI).
Report only pathogens in both blood and urine specimens for ABUTI.
Report Corynebacterium (urease positive) as either Corynebacterium species
unspecified (COS) or, as C. urealyticum (CORUR) if so speciated.
Other Urinary Tract Infection (OUTI) (kidney, ureter, bladder, urethra, or
tissue surrounding the retroperineal or perinephric space)
Other infections of the urinary tract must meet at least 1 of the following criteria:
Patient has microorganisms isolated from culture of fluid (other than urine) or
tissue from affected site.
Patient has an abscess or other evidence of infection seen on direct examination,
during a surgical operation, or during a histopathologic examination.
Patient has at least 2 of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognized
cause: fever (>38°C), localized pain, or localized tenderness at the involved site
and
at least 1 of the following:
a. purulent drainage from affected site
b. microorganisms cultured from blood that are compatible with
suspected site of infection
c. radiographic evidence of infection (e.g., abnormal ultrasound, CT
scan, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], or radiolabel scan [gallium,
technetium]).
Patient < 1 year of age has at least 1 of the following signs or symptoms with no
other recognized cause: fever (>38°C core), hypothermia (<36°C core), apnea,
bradycardia, lethargy, or vomiting
and
at least 1 of the following:
a. purulent drainage from affected site
b. microorganisms cultured from blood that are compatible with
suspected site of infection
c. radiographic evidence of infection, (e.g., abnormal ultrasound, CT
scan, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], or radiolabel scan [gallium,
technetium]).
Report infections following circumcision in newborns as SST-CIRC.

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Figure 1: Identification and Categorization of SUTI Indwelling Catheter at the Time of
Specimen Collection

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Figure 2: Identification and Categorization of SUTI Indwelling Catheter Discontinued in
Prior 48 Hours

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Figure 3: Identification and Categorization of SUTI Without Indwelling Catheter at Time
of or Within 48 Hours Prior to Specimen Collection

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Figure 4: Identification and Categorization of SUTI in Patient ≤1 Year of Age

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Figure 5: Identification of Asymptomatic Bacteremic Urinary Tract Infection (ABUTI)

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