Invasive devices such as urinary catheters or intravenous lines increase your chances sevenfold of acquiring an infection, according to a report from Britain’s Public Health Laboratory Service.
Data for the report, collected from 19 hospitals in England and Wales over a three year period, showed over 2000 hospital acquired infections in over 80,000 admissions a rate of nearly three infections for every 100 admissions. Rates of infection for intensive care units, where invasive devices are used more frequently, were nearly 20 for every 100 admissions (BMJ, 1997, 314: 1503).