Global Foley Catheters Market Information: Analysis & Trends, 2017-2023

Published On: October 2017

Introduction to Foley catheters

A Foley catheters is a flexible urinary drainage tube that passed through the urethra and into the bladder by a small, water-inflated balloon. These catheters collects urine from the bladder and then moves to a drainage bag. Foley catheters are one of the most used and common type of urinary catheter. Foley catheters are used in both short and long term catheterization. Usually due to various medical conditions, patients lose their ability to urinate, at that time Foley catheter is one most preferred tool by medical professionals.

Foley catheters are in use since last eight decades and was introduced by Dr. Frederick E.B. Foley. Foley catheters are also known as indwelling catheters that means “inside your body”. Foley catheter has two lumens or channels down its length. One of the channel opens at both ends and clear our urine into a collection bag. The other channel has a valve at the end and it is connected to a balloon at the tip. This balloon is filled with sterile water and it stays inside the bladder to prevent it from slipping out.

Foley catheters are used in various disorders, problems, procedures, or medical conditions such as these:

• Urine output measurement in a critically ill or injured patients.


• Urine collection for diagnostic purpose.


• Provide artificial channel too release urine for the people who cannot urinate on his own due to different medical problems.


• Due to some medical conditions like prostate cancer, prostate hypertrophy, or narrowing of the urethra, patients lost the ability to urinate.


• These catheters are widely used for the patients who are facing urinary incontinence.


• Foley catheters are also used in patients who have urinary retention.

Most of the catheters are necessary until the patients regain the ability to release the urine on his own. The time of catheterization is totally depends on the medical condition of the patient. There are some other major factors due to which patient lost his ability to urinate on his own such as urine flow get blocked due to blood clots in the urine, severe enlargement of the prostate gland, or kidney stones, surgery of prostate gland, genital surgery such as hysterectomy, nerve injuries of the bladder, spinal cord injuries, side effect of some medicines, birth defect like spina bifida or neural tube defect etc.

However there are some complications related to use of Foley catheters such as these,

Catheter-associated complications: Bacteriuria or bacteria in the urine occurs in most of the catheterised patients who have these catheters in place for about 2-10 days.  The average incidence of bacteriuria is about 3-10%. The patients who have catheterization for short-term (i.e. about 2 to 4 days) may develop bacteriuria which is mostly asymptomatic or there are no physical signs of a medical problem. While About 90-100% of patients who have catheterization for long-term, usually develops bacteriuria.

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is one of most common and severe catheter-associated complication that generally leads to septicemia and urosepsis. Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is most common hospital-acquired infection which comprises more than 40% of all institutionally acquired infections.

Some other complications includes catheter-associated biofilms, encrustations, urosepsis, epididymitis , urethral damage, hematuria, erosion (tearing) of the urethra, bladder stones, inflammation of the urethral meatus, bladder cancer, urethral fistulas, pain and discomfort etc.

According to study of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, about 42% of catheterized patients felt that the catheter was uncomfortable, 48% of the catheterized patients felt that the catheter was painful while about 61% of them felt that their routine got affected due to the use of catheters.

Foley catheters Market InformationThe global Foley catheters market was valued at approximately USD 583.6 million in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 7.8% during the forecast period that is from 2017 to 2023. Such high growth is majorly attributed to factors such as; increasing prevelence of various urologic diseases and hospitilization due to various medeical conditions. Growing awareness and rapid adoption of foley catheters in emerging markets such as China and India boosting the growth of Foley catheters market globally. Governments of different countries are taking many initiatives to improve public health by providing subsidy and affordable healthcare facilities are also driving the growth of the market.

However, side effects of the Foley catheters, lack of skilled professionals and stringent regulatory policies, slow adoption in low income countries and traditional healthcare practices are the key restraints for the market growth.

Foley Catheters Segmentation Analysis The global Foley catheters market has been majorly segmented on the basis of; type of material, type, end-users, and geographic regions.

Globally Foley catheters market by type of material is segmented into latex, silicone, silicone elastomer coated latex, hydrophilic polymer coated latex, polytetrafluoroethylene ptfe (teflon) coated latex, and others.

2-way catheters are most used type of Foley catheters. On the basis of type, the market is segmented into 2-way catheters, 3-way catheters, 4-way catheters and others.

On the basis of end user this market is segmented into medical research center, hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers. Hospitals are the main user of Foley catheters followed by ambulatory surgery centers.

Foley Catheters Market Regional AnalysisGlobally, North America holds the largest share of over 39.2% of Foley catheters market and is expected to be the leading market during 2017-2023. Due to increasing prevalence of urologic diseases, rapid adoption, increasing awareness, developing healthcare infrastructure, government support and increasing healthcare expenditure, Asia Pacific market is expected to witness the fastest growth rate. Asia Pacific Foley catheters market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period.

Companies are continuously investing large amount of money for R&D to derive effective product for the market.  Some of the key players in Foley catheters market are; B. Braun Melsungen AG (Germany), Coloplast Ltd (Denmark), Cook (US), Teleflex (US), Medline Industries, Inc. (US), and Medtronic (Republic of Ireland).