Bacterial content of enucleated prostate glands

An investigation has been done to study the bacterial content of the prostate gland in a group of 100 patients who underwent retropubic prostatectomy. The operation was performed under hypotension, and catheters were not used in the postoperative period. One-half the patients presented with retention of urine; the remainder underwent elective operation. Eighty-seven patients had sterile urine at the time of surgery, but bacteria were isolated from the prostate gland in 42 patients. It was confirmed that the longer a catheter was left indwelling before operation, the greater would be the likelihood that bacteria would be isolated from the gland. In patients who did not require catheterization before operation, the incidence of bacterial infection of the gland was 40.8 per cent. Bacteria isolated from the prostate were responsible for the majority of the cases of postoperative septicemia and wound infections.