title: Diagnostic criteria and natural history of catheter-associated urinary tract infections after prostatectomy.
abstract: Bacteriuria occurred postoperatively in 28 of 122 patients who had sterile urine before transurethral prostatectomy without antibiotic prophylaxis. Prospective monitoring of catheter bacteriuria indicated that a bacterial count of 10(3) colony-forming-units (cfu/ml progressed to significant infection except when the bacterium in the urine was Staphylococcus epidermidis. Bacteraemia developed in 4 bacteriuric patients, including 2 in whom the bacteria in the urine and blood were mixed. Catheter removal without antibiotic therapy resulted in spontaneous resolution of Staph epidermidis bacteriuria in 9 patients but infection persisted in 5 of 6 patients with other bacteria in the urine. This study indicates that a bacterial count of 10(3) cfu/ml in catheter urine is associated with pathological sequelae and that catheter removal does not result in resolution of bacteriuria caused by pathogenic bacteria.
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001437:Bacteriuria / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011468:Prostatectomy; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology