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Inpatient FAQ: UTI and Indwelling Catheter/Device
Published on
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Question
A patient was transferred from a nursing home with a Foley and was found to have a UTI upon admission. Should we always query to see if the UTI was caused by the Foley catheter?
Answer
Yes. Patients that have an indwelling catheter are susceptible to bacteria in the urine and UTIs. If the UTI was caused by the Foley, code T83.511A (Infection and inflammatory reaction due to indwelling urethral catheter, initial encounter) should be assigned as the principal diagnosis. A code for the UTI should also be assigned as a secondary diagnosis. A catheter-associated urinary tract infection is also called a (CAUTI). Coding the CAUTI as the principal diagnosis may also affect the DRG assignment.
It’s good practice to review the chart for supporting evidence of the presence of a Foley catheter or another kind of urinary catheter/device, when a UTI is diagnosed.
References:
Merck Manual
AHA Coding Handbook
Article Author: Susie James, RHIT, CCS
Susie James, RHIT, CCS, is the Manager of Inpatient Coding Services at MMP, Inc. Susie has worked in the coding field for over 30 years and has worked as a coder, coding supervisor, and corporate coding manager for a large multi-facility system in Birmingham. She also worked for Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation (AQAF) as a coding reviewer/auditor before joining the team at Medical Management Plus, Inc. Susie has previously served as the President of the Alabama Association of Health Information Management (AAHIM) on the Board of Directors and currently serves as the Education/Coding Roundtable Chair. She is also a member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and has previously served as the Co-chair for AHIMA's Leadership Team. She also served as a facilitator at AHIMA's 85th National Convention in Atlanta Georgia.
This material was compiled to share information. MMP, Inc. is not offering legal advice. Every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the information is accurate and useful.
