Incidence of urinary tract infection following transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy at a tertiary-care medical center in Lebanon.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) following transrectal ultrasound guided needle biopsy of the prostate (TRUBP) and the bacteriology of these infections.

DESIGN

Retrospective evaluation of the charts and records of all patients who underwent TRUBP between June 1, 2002, and August 31, 2003.

SETTING

American University of Beirut Medical Center, a tertiary-care center in Lebanon.

PATIENTS: Two hundred seven patients underwent TRUBP. All received prophylactic antibiotics. One hundred twenty (58%) received ciprofloxacin alone, whereas 87 (42%) received both ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. Sixty-one patients (29.5%) had an enema prior to the procedure, whereas 146 (70.5%) did not.

RESULTS

Thirteen patients (6.3%) were admitted with UTI. All had rigors and fever on admission. Symptoms appeared at a mean of 2.7 days and the mean hospital stay was 9.2 days. The mean duration of antibiotic treatment was 23.2 days. Ten (77%) of the patients had positive bacteriology. Urine cultures were positive in 8 (61.5%) of the patients and blood cultures in 6 (46.2%). All positive cultures grew Escherichia coli resistant to ciprofloxacin, with 5 isolates producing extended-spectrum betalactamases.

CONCLUSIONS

TRUBP continues to be associated with significant infectious complications, especially UTI. Given the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance mainly among the Enterobacteriaceae, antimicrobial prophylaxis practices should be reevaluated and the universal administration of quinolones alone or in combination with aminoglycosides should be reconsidered.