[citation needed] Indwelling catheters/IDCs should be used only when indicated, as use increases the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (UTI) and other adverse effects.

[3] His original design was adopted by C. R. Bard, Inc. of Murray Hill, New Jersey, who manufactured the first prototypes and named them in honor of the surgeon.

There are even still glass in/out catheters in use today (although very rare) as many older people who have been self catheterising for a very long time prefer them to the plastic ones, as there's no wastage.

There is a study currently under way called "Single use versus reusable catheters in intermittent catheterisation for treatment of urinary retention: a protocol for a multicentre, prospective, randomised controlled, non-inferiority trial".

[6] Alternatively, the size of a 10 Fr catheter might be expressed as 10 Ch (Charriere units – named after a 19th century French scientific instrument maker, Joseph-Frédéric-Benoît Charrière).

Examination findings such as blood at the urethral meatus, or a high riding prostate necessitate a retrograde urethrogram prior to insertion.

[8] While UTIs are generally more common among females, the risk factor associated to anatomy is reduced while carrying catheters, some studies even showing no significant differences between the sex.

[8] Physicians can reduce their use of indwelling urinary catheters when they follow evidence-based guidelines for usage, such as those published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[12] Whilst the presence of a catheter does increase the incidence of bloodstream infections secondary to a urinary origin, there is a huge amount of unnecessary, and likely harmful, antimicrobial prescribing on the basis of detection of asymptomatic bacteriuria.

The industry is moving to silver-coated catheters in an attempt to reduce the incidence of urinary tract infections, although there is limited evidence of efficacy.