Purpose: We evaluated the flow characteristics of various 3-way catheters.
Materials and methods: We evaluated 14, 3-way catheters, including 18Fr, 20Fr, 22Fr and 24Fr Rusch(R), 18Fr, 20Fr, 22Fr and 24Fr Bardex(R), 18Fr, 20Fr, 22Fr and 24Fr Dover, and 20Fr and 22Fr Mentor (Mentor, Santa Barbara, California) catheters. Ten operators applied maximum 1-hand pressure with a 60 ml bladder wash syringe. Maximum and average flow rates were evaluated. The catheter was connected to an irrigation bottle and free flow irrigation speed was noted. The catheter was inserted into a latex balloon containing a prefilled volume of 100 ml and continuous irrigation characteristics were noted. Statistical analysis was performed using 1-way ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test.
Results: Rusch catheters had the best flow characteristics when the drainage port was used for manual irrigation with 18Fr catheters (Rusch and Dover 24.8 and 19.2 ml per second, p = 0.003, vs Bardex 17.67 ml per second, p <0.001), and with 20Fr Rusch, Bardex, Mentor and Dover catheters (27.7, 21.42, 27.1 and 24 ml per second, respectively, p = 0.034). In the other categories of catheters tested there was no significant difference among 22Fr Rusch, Bardex, Dover and Mentor catheters (29.4, 28.9, 25 and 28.27 ml per second, p = 0.32), and among 24Fr Rusch, Bardex and Dover catheters (32.2, 29.79 and 29.9 ml per second, respectively, p = 0.27). Upon using the irrigation channel for manual irrigation all catheters had similar flow characteristics (no statistically significant difference). When connected to the irrigation tube with free flow, although the 18Fr, 20Fr and 22Fr Rusch, and 24Fr Dover catheters had slightly better flow than the others, this was not statistically significant. There was no marked difference in flow rate as catheter size increased above 20Fr. When the artificial bladder was used, the Rusch catheters had the maximum drainage in the 18Fr and 20Fr sizes, whereas the Mentor and Dover catheters had the maximum drainage in the 22Fr and 24Fr sizes, respectively (no statistically significant difference).
Conclusions: The 18Fr and 20Fr Rusch 3-way catheters have better flow than other catheters when the drainage port is used for washout. In the 22Fr and 24Fr categories all different catheters had equivalent irrigation and drainage properties. Larger catheter size does not equate to better irrigation or drainage when continuous irrigation is used.