A client with an indwelling urinary catheter needs a urine specimen. To obtain a specimen from a Foley catheter, the nurse should first:

Explanation

•The catheter tubing should be clamped for a few minutes (not to exceed 30 minutes) to allow urine to collect for the specimen. The specimen can then be withdrawn with a sterile syringe through the aspiration port after cleaning with alcohol or povidone-iodine.

•Do not separate the catheter from the tubing. This unnecessarily exposes the closed system to bacteria. Separating the catheter and tubing is a major cause of UTIs.

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