Written and maintained by CASRAI Editorial Board
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This page describes products and general use; it is not medical advice.
A council tip catheter is a balloon-retention (Foley-type) urinary catheter whose tip has an end opening that lets a guidewire pass through the catheter, so it can be advanced over a wire. It is placed by a healthcare professional. This guide is for clinic staff, buyers and students who need to tell it apart from other catheter tips and read how regulators and catalog records describe it.
Who uses it: the device is intended to be introduced by a healthcare professional (GMDN definition for this device group).
What a council tip catheter is
A council tip catheter is an indwelling urethral drainage catheter with a retention balloon, built with an open tip so a wire can run through its lumen. In the peer-reviewed literature, Abbott and colleagues describe a council-tip catheter as one with an end-hole drainage port that allows wire-guided placement (Urology Annals, 2015).
It is not a separate regulatory class. FDA records list it as a Foley-type catheter: the same feature is filed under product code EZL (“Catheter, Retention Type, Balloon”) and, for some products, KOD (“Catheter, Urological”). Both are Class 2 under 21 CFR 876.5130.
How it is built
The GMDN term that covers these products (34917, “Indwelling urethral drainage balloon catheter, non-antimicrobial”) defines the device as a flexible tube with an inflatable balloon at its distal tip, inserted through the urethra and retained in the bladder to drain urine. The same definition notes that some types may have a bent (coude) tip.
FDA GUDID catalog records (checked 2026-10-30) show the council tip products as 2-way, 5 cc (5 mL) balloon catheters made of silicone. One Bard line is described as all-silicone with a lubricious coating; the Dover line is described as 100% silicone. The records give sizes and balloon volume; they do not state the dimensions of the tip opening.
Types and variants
Several look-alike terms are easy to confuse. The table separates them.
| Term | What it is | Key difference | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council tip Foley catheter | Balloon-retention catheter with an end opening for wire-guided placement | End hole passes a guidewire | Abbott et al. 2015; GUDID records |
| Coude tip catheter | Catheter with a bent tip to ease insertion | Shape of the tip, not a wire channel | GMDN 34917 definition |
| Standard Foley catheter | Balloon-retention catheter for indwelling urinary drainage | No wire-guided tip implied | GMDN 34917 definition |
| Council catheter stylet | Separate reusable accessory: 6 Fr, stainless steel, threaded tip | An accessory, not a catheter; records mark it not single-use | GUDID (Greenwald Surgical / Grace Manufacturing) |
The spelling “Councill” also appears in GUDID (for example a Bardex Lubricath Foley Catheter, Councill Model). Search both spellings when looking up records. For other tip styles see the guides on the Texas catheter and the Robinson catheter, and for the parent device the guide to the Foley catheter.
Sizes and specifications in catalog records
| Product line (maker) | French sizes listed | Balloon | Material | FDA product code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bardex Lubri-Sil council tip Foley (C. R. Bard) | 16, 18, 20, 22 Fr | 5 cc | All silicone, lubricious coated | EZL, Class 2 |
| Bardex Lubri-Sil I.C. council tip Foley (C. R. Bard) | 16, 18, 20, 22 Fr | 5 cc | All silicone, coated | Recorded in GUDID |
| Dover 100% silicone council tip Foley (Cardinal Health) | 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 Fr | 5 mL (5 cc), 2-way | 100% silicone | KOD, Class 2 |
The Dover records also give outer diameters: 16 Fr is 5.3 mm, 18 Fr 6.0 mm, 20 Fr 6.7 mm, 22 Fr 7.3 mm and 24 Fr 8.0 mm. The Bard records are sterile, single-use, prescription-only and labeled as not made with natural rubber latex. The Dover records are sterile and single-use.
How to choose
Tip and size selection is a clinical decision, so this section is limited to what the records and definitions themselves say.
- Clinician decision. The GMDN definition says the device is introduced by a healthcare professional; the choice of tip and size belongs to the clinician responsible for the patient.
- Latex labeling. The Bard records are labeled not made with natural rubber latex; check this field on the specific record for any product.
- Single use and sterility. The catalog records for the council tip catheters are sterile, single-use devices. The separate council stylet is not marked single-use.
- Prescription status. The Bard records are marked Rx only.
Safe use and handling basics
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use for the specific product. The catalog records describe these catheters as sterile and single-use, so a catheter is not reused and a package that is damaged or open is not used. Placement, wire handling, balloon filling and removal are clinical procedures for trained staff and are outside the scope of this page. For drainage hardware that goes with an indwelling catheter, see the guides on the urinary drainage bag and the catheter strap.
Common mistakes
- Treating “council tip” and “coude” as the same thing. Coude describes a bent tip; council tip describes an end opening for a wire.
- Ordering the council catheter stylet when a catheter is meant, or the reverse. They are different products in the records.
- Searching only one spelling. Records exist under both “council” and “Councill”.
- Assuming the size list applies to every maker. The sizes above are those listed for the three product lines in the table.
FAQ
Is a council tip catheter a Foley catheter?
Yes. The records list it as a balloon-retention catheter under GMDN term 34917, whose definition notes that most types are commonly known as a Foley catheter. See the guide to the Foley catheter.
What FDA class is a council tip catheter?
Class 2 (Class II). The product codes seen in the records, EZL and KOD, are both Class 2 under 21 CFR 876.5130, Urological catheter and accessories.
What sizes are listed?
16 to 22 Fr for the two Bard lines and 16 to 24 Fr for the Dover line in the FDA records, each with a 5 cc balloon.
What is the difference between a council tip and a coude tip?
Per GMDN, a coude tip is a bent tip that helps insertion. A council tip, per Abbott et al. (2015), has an end hole that allows placement over a guidewire.
Related products are listed in the catheters, urology and incontinence category at lac.us. For a comparison of routes, see Foley vs suprapubic catheter.
Sources
All sources checked 2026-10-30.
- FDA openFDA UDI (GUDID) device records: https://api.fda.gov/device/udi.json?search=device_description:council
- AccessGUDID record 00801741019968: https://accessgudid.nlm.nih.gov/devices/00801741019968
- openFDA device classification, product codes EZL and KOD: https://api.fda.gov/device/classification.json?search=product_code:EZL
- 21 CFR 876.5130, Urological catheter and accessories: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/876.5130
- Abbott JE, Heinemann A, Badalament R, Davalos JG. A clever technique for placement of a urinary catheter over a wire. Urology Annals 2015;7(3):367-370: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4518377/
