Healthcare Quality

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI)

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in ICUs and select wards, Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR)

About this data measure

  • Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common healthcare-associated infection. The majority of UTIs that develop in the hospital are associated with a catheter, which is a tube inserted into the bladder to drain urine. (Source: CDC)
  • While Rhode Island’s CAUTI Standardized Infection Ratio has decreased over the past two quarters, Rhode Island remains one of the lowest performing states for this indicator.

Measure Source: Medicare Care Compare

How to interpret the Standardized Infection Ratio:

- If the SIR > 1.0, then more infections were observed than predicted, based on the 2015 national aggregate data.

- If the SIR < 1.0, then fewer infections were observed than predicted, based on the 2015 national aggregate data.

- If the SIR= 1.0, then the same number of infections were observed as predicted, based on the 2015 national aggregate data.

Interpretation source: CDC, for more information, visit CDC's NHSN SIR Guide.

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) over time