Nonantibiotic strategies to decrease the postbiopsy hospitalization rates because of infectious complications after...

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Infectious Disease Prevention
• Medical Procedures

Background:

• Transrectal prostate biopsy is associated with infectious complications.
• Prophylactic antibiotics are commonly used but may not be fully effective.
• Non-antibiotic strategies for infection prevention require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of biopsy needle disinfection with 10% formalin alone versus combined with povidone-iodine rectal cleaning in preventing post-biopsy infectious complications.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotics alone as a control group.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 902 patients undergoing transrectal prostate biopsy.
• Patients received prophylactic antibiotics and had negative urine cultures.
• Three groups were compared: formalin disinfection only, antibiotics only, and formalin disinfection plus povidone-iodine rectal cleansing.

Main Results:

• Hospitalization rates for infectious complications were 2.7% (formalin alone), 8.5% (antibiotics alone), and 0% (combined approach).
• The combined strategy of formalin disinfection and povidone-iodine rectal cleansing demonstrated the highest efficacy.
• Prophylactic antibiotics alone showed the highest rate of infectious complications requiring hospitalization.

Conclusions:

• The combination of biopsy needle disinfection with formalin and povidone-iodine rectal cleansing is a highly effective strategy for preventing infectious complications after prostate biopsy.
• This dual non-antibiotic approach appears superior to prophylactic antibiotics alone.
• Further prospective studies are recommended to validate these findings.