About the Trial

Key messages:

• The aim of the MultICath programme, of which the Trial is the second part, is to increase options for intermittent catheter users.
• Existing research shows that there are advantages from single-use and multi-use catheters and this leads us to believe that there could be benefits from using both (mixed use). Although single use catheters are very convenient, catheter users report that having a catheter that can be re-used, means having to carry fewer catheters when away from home and reduces the fear of running out of single use catheters.
• Also, having a catheter that could be re-used, would mean fewer catheters being thrown away which may reduce plastic waste in the environment.
• It is important to keep an open mind about mixed use and offer as many patients as possible the opportunity to be in the MultICath Trial so that we can find out if mixed use is safe and acceptable.

Trial aims

To determine, in a large clinical trial, whether mixed intermittent catheter use (using reusable catheters sometimes and single use catheters at other times) is no more likely to cause urinary tract infection than using single-use catheters only.

Other outcomes that will be measured include the number of urinary tract infections experienced per participant over the year, the number of prescriptions of antibiotics for urinary tract infections, incidence of urethral bleeding, quality of life, costs associated with each method, and patient experiences and views regarding the catheters that they use.

Who can participate in the Trial?

Men and women  18 years and over who plan to use intermittent catheterisation for at least 12 months.

What does the Trial involve?

This is a randomised controlled trial in which 520 participants must be willing to use one of two intermittent catheterisation strategies which will be randomly allocated by computer. The two strategies are:

• single-use catheters only (most people will be currently using this strategy and will continue as usual)
• mixed-use (combination of single use and  multi-use catheters)

Participants using the 'mixed' strategy, will clean and re-use uncoated, reusable silicone catheters (the Cliny catheter) for at least some of their catheterisations. At other times they will continue to use their usual single-use catheters.

Our team of clinical and research experts include experienced research nurses who will support the research sites and participants throughout the study.

More about the Trial

Meet the team

The history and development of Intermittent Catheters

This website refers to independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR) Programme (Grant Reference Number RP-PG-0610-10078). The views expressed are those of the research team and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.