Conventional indwelling catheters satisfy the basic need related to urine retention and incontinence, but have serious drawbacks due to:
- Extremely high risk of infection
- Sharp decrease of patient´s quality of life
- Regular catheter blockage requiring frequent visit to accident & emergency units
- Loss of bladder reflex, i.e. chronic incontinence
- Sudden disconnection of catheter and urine leakage
- High risk of exposure to biological contaminants for health care professionals
- Low protocol-adherence regarding aseptic insertion and sample collection
- Heavy workload and high stress factor for nursing staff
