title: Impact of preoperative screening for rectal colonization with fluoroquinolone-resistant enteric bacteria on the incidence of sepsis following transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy.
abstract: With the universal adoption of antibiotic prophylaxis prior to prostate biopsy, the current risk of post-biopsy infection (including sepsis) is <2%. Preoperative prophylactic antibiotic regimens can vary, and although fluoroquinolones have emerged as the standard of care, there is no universally agreed upon preoperative antibiotic regimen. Recently, an increase in the proportion of postoperative infections caused by fluoroquinolone-resistantEscherichia coli(as well as otherEnterobacteriaceae) has led to the exploration of simple, practical, and cost-effective methods to minimize this postoperative infection risk. We performed a prospective, nonrandomized, controlled study of preoperative rectal cultures to screen for rectal colonization with fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria using ciprofloxacin-supplemented MacConkey agar culture media. To evaluate the feasibility and practicality of this test, one provider used the results of rectal swab cultures collected during the preoperative outpatient evaluation to adjust each patient's preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis when fluoroquinolone-resistant enteric bacteria were detected, whereas two other providers continued usual preoperative care and empiric antimicrobial prophylaxis. Rectal colonization with fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria was detected in 19/152 (12.5%) of patients. In our intention-to-treat analysis (N=268), the rate of post-biopsy sepsis was 3.6% lower in the group that was screened for rectal colonization with fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria prior to transrectal prostate biopsy. The observed risk reduction in the rectal screening group trended toward, but did not achieve, statistical significance. We suggest that preoperative screening for rectal colonization with fluoroquinolone-resistant enteric bacteria may be a useful step toward mitigating post-prostate biopsy sepsis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Illinois College of Medicine; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Microbiology & Serology, OSF/Saint Francis Medical Center.
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Farrell
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, OSF/Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria, IL.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hicks
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Microbiology & Serology, OSF/Saint Francis Medical Center.
authors.forename: Stephanie E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Cooper University Hospital; Department of Surgery, Cooper University School of Medicine, Camden, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Allen D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Seftel
keywords: antimicrobial stewardship; gram-negative infections; preoperative antibiotic prophylactic treatment; sepsis