OBJECTIVE To analyze the clinical and etiological characteristics of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) based on the surveillance criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC/NHSN), and provide localized evidence for revision of Chinese criteria for diagnosis of hospital-associated infections.

METHODS The clinical data were collected from the patients who were diagnosed with CAUTI during hospitalization at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from Jan. 2021 to Jun. 2025. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the incidence rate, clinical infection features and etiological distribution of CAUTI.

RESULTS A total of 107 875 catheterized patients were monitored, with 267 cases of CAUTI identified. The incidence rate was 0.65‰, showing a decrease compared to the rate (1.22‰) monitored under China′s 2010 "Technical Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (Trial)". Among them, 19 cases of CAUTI were complicated by bloodstream infection, with a bloodstream infection rate of 7.12%. The top three departments with the highest CAUTI incidence rates were rehabilitation department (6.21‰), rheumatology and immunology department (6.16‰) and oncology department (4.40‰). A total of 285 pathogenic bacteria were isolated from urine samples, including 184 gram-negative bacteria (64.56%) and 101 gram-positive bacteria (35.44%). A total of 19 pathogenic bacteria were detected from blood samples, predominantly Escherichia coli (9, 47.37%). The highest incidence rate of bloodstream infection occurred within 7 days of catheterization (7/82, 8.54%). The detection of two pathogenic bacteria or drug-resistant bacteria in urine primarily occurred after 30 days of catheterization.

CONCLUSIONS The incidence rate of CAUTI under CDC/NHSN surveillance criteria is lower than that under Chinese surveillance standards. Further research is needed to explore the correlation between CDC/NHSN′s CAUTI hospital-associated infection surveillance criteria and clinical diagnostic standards. Enterococci and E. coli have emerged as the primary pathogenic bacteria for CAUTI prevention and control.