Bladder, bowel and bugs--bacteriuria in patients with intestinal urinary diversion

The incorporation of intestinal segments into the urinary tract favors bacterial growth of the skin flora, anaerobic bacteria, and uropathogenic strains. The route of infection is ascending; bacteria enter the urethra or the abdominal stoma, which is followed by colonization of the reconstructed lower urinary tract. Bacteriuria is common in all kind of reconstructions; however, urine from neobladder patients with complete emptying is reported to carry bacteria to a lesser extent. Clean intermittent catheterization and residual urine seem to increase the bacterial burden. Patients with augmentation cystoplasties constitute a distinct subgroup in which the remaining part of the bladder tissue is an important determinant of urinary tract susceptibility to infection. The increased rate of bacteriuria in the reconstructed patients indicates a lack of "antibacterial defenses", and the symptom free state of the patients suggests that only a restricted host response is triggered. The role of the specific and inflammatory antibacterial defenses in the reconstructed lower urinary tract remains largely unknown.