Intractable urinary incontinence in geriatric patients

Care of the permanently incontinent patient is aimed at collection or controlled release of urine and maintenance of personal hygiene. Before the patient is submitted to long-term catheterization and its attendant risks of infection, incrustation, and urethritis, alternatives should be explored. These include condom catheters, penile clamps, incontinence underpants, and various surgical procedures. Management is much the same for men and women, except that incontinence underpants are employed more often for women. In all patients, long-term catheterization should always be considered a last resort.