Analysis of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis in stented, distal hypospadias repair

Surgical site infection [SSI] is a risk for any surgical procedure, including hypospadias repair. Prophylactic antibiotic therapy for patients having surgery is often effective in preventing SSIs, but with increasing rates of antibiotic resistance, this practice has been questioned. The objectives of this study are 1) to assess the incidence of SSIs in patients following stented, distal hypospadias repair and 2) to observe for any potential difference in the incidence of SSIs for patients with and without preoperative antibiotic utilization in this setting.

We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients treated with stented, distal hypospadias repair from 2011 to 2014 by three surgeons and compared two groups: patients who received preoperative antibiotics and patients who did not. Patients with a history of previous hypospadias repair were excluded from the study.

Two hundred twenty-four subjects were identified. Group 1 (135) received preoperative antibiotic and Group 2 (89) did not receive preoperative antibiotics. There was no statistically significant difference in SSI prevalence with 0 patients in Group 1 and 1 patient in Group 2 having a SSI.

Although prophylactic antibiotics prior to hypospadias repair are most often used by pediatric urologists, this study demonstrates further evidence that antibiotics prior to this procedure do not appear to lower the rate of SSI. This study is limited by its retrospective nature and disparate mean follow up in the two cohorts. Surgical site infection does not appear to be decreased by prophylactic antibiotic therapy before distal hypospadias repair.