Assessment of Physicians’ Knowledge of Clean Intermittent Urinary Self-Catheterization in an African Country: The Case of Senegal

Abstract

Introduction: Clean intermittent self-catheterization is the gold standard for the management of urinary retention. But its use remains limited in our practice. Objective: We are conducting this study to assess physicians’ knowledge of its practice in order to promote its promotion. Material and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, prospective, descriptive and analytical study in two hospitals in Dakar for two months. The resident doctors were interviewed on the basis of a questionnaire developed based on the recommendations of the French Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (SOFMER). Results: 54 medical residents returned the questionnaire. 63% of physicians surveyed defined the clean intermittent self-catheterization as a sterile intermittent self-catheterization. 70.9% of the doctors surveyed had cited urinary retention as an indication for the clean intermittent self-catheterization; 53.7% advocated sterile gloves for the catheterization; 29.6% proposed a frequency of one to two times and 2 to 4 catheterizations per day. 70.4% of doctors recommended indicating Cytobacteriological examination of urine in case of symptoms of urinary tract infection. Antibiotic therapy from the outset was offered by 83.3% of doctors in case of symptoms of urinary tract infection under intermittent self-sounding. 59.3% were unaware of clean intermittent self-catheterization. Discussion and Conclusion: Apart from the indica-tions, the clean intermittent self-catheterization remains unknown by res-ident doctors and its practice remains to be mastered, hence the need to establish a course on its practice at the faculty of medicine.