Background: Urethral erosion secondary to a medical device-related pressure injury (MDRPI) is preventable, understudied, not well understood, and often overlooked.
Purpose: This case report describes a patient who sustained an MDRPI secondary to indwelling urinary catheter placement for urinary retention.
Case study: A 93-year-old man with prostate cancer and pneumonia received an indwelling urinary catheter for retention during a 2-week hospitalization. Upon his transfer to a rehabilitation facility, the patient's daughter informed staff that she had observed a 1-cm urethral erosion on the urinary meatus. Within a week, the penile erosion worsened to encircle the urinary meatus to 1.5 cm, and clinical signs of infection were present. Eventually, the patient was transferred to a hospice facility where he died.
Conclusion: This case study demonstrates the need for increased training of health care professionals in identifying risk factors for MDRPI and managing such injuries to limit their devastating impact on the patient and family members.