Effect of active versus passive void trials on time to patient discharge, urinary tract infection, and urinary retention: a randomized clinical trial.

Purpose: We sought to determine the effect of active versus passive voiding trials on time to hospital discharge and rates of urinary tract infection (UTI) and urinary retention (UR).

Methods: We performed a prospective, randomized trial comparing active (AVT) versus passive (PVT) void trials of inpatients requiring urethral catheter removal. Of 329 eligible patients, 274 were randomized to AVT (bladder filled with saline before catheter removal) or PVT (spontaneous bladder filling after catheter removal). Primary outcome was time to hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes were UTI (NSQIP criteria) and UR (requiring repeat catheterization) within 2 weeks of void trial.

Results: The median time to void was 18 (5-115) versus 236 (136-360) min in the AVT and PVT groups, respectively (p < 0.0001). However, no difference was seen in comparison of the median time to hospital discharge between AVT [28.4 (13.6-69.3) h] and PVT [30.0 (10.4-75.6) h] cohorts, respectively (p = 0.93). Six (4.8%) and 13 (12.9%) patients developed UTI in the AVT and PVT groups, respectively (p = 0.03). Eleven (8.8%) and 12 (11.9%) patients developed UR in the AVT and PVT groups, respectively (p = 0.36).

Conclusion: Our study comparing AVT versus PVT demonstrated no difference in time to discharge despite a 3.6 h reduction in time to void associated with AVT. AVT was associated with a 63% reduction in UTI, with no difference seen in UR rates across cohorts. Given the reduction in UTI and technical advantages, our data suggest that AVT should be considered as a recommended technique for void trial protocol.

Trial Registration: NCT02886143 (clinicaltrials.gov).