ABSTRACT
Chapter overview: principles of care 259 Assessing urine output 259 Collection of urine specimens 260 Urethral catheterisation 265
Catheter care and prevention of complications 270 Urinalysis: testing with reagent strips 273 Pregnancy testing 274 References 275
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this chapter, the reader should be able to accomplish the following: 1 Describe the assessment of urine output in infants
and children 2 Identify methods of urine collection in infants and
children 3 Describe how to carry out urinalysis on a sample of
urine, and discuss what test results may signify 4 Describe with rationale how to safely perform
urethral catheterisation 5 List the potential complications of urethral
catheterisation, and how to avoid them 6 Describe with rationale how to safely remove an
indwelling urethral catheter 7 Illustrate the importance of testing urine with
reagent strips 8 Describe how to test for pregnancy using a urine
sample
depends on obtaining uncontaminated, quality urine specimens, and the quality of the urine specimen is dependent on the method and skill of collection.
