Does Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Patients with Specific Comorbidities Reduce the Risk of Infection after Simple Cystourethroscopy?

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated whether antimicrobial prophylaxis decreases rates of post-procedural infection (urinary tract infection or sepsis) after simple cystourethroscopy for patients with specific comorbidities. METHODS: We utilized Epic® reporting software to conduct a retrospective review of all simple cystourethroscopy procedures performed by providers in our urology department from August 4, 2014 to December 31, 2019. Data collected included patient comorbidities, antimicrobial prophylaxis administration and incidence of post-procedural infection. Mixed effects logistic regression models were utilized to estimate the effects of antimicrobial prophylaxis and patient comorbidities on the odds of post-procedural infection. RESULTS: Antimicrobial prophylaxis was given for 7,001 (78%) of 8,997 simple cystourethroscopy procedures. Overall, 83 (0.9%) post-procedural infections occurred. The estimated odds of post-procedural infection were lower when antimicrobial prophylaxis was given compared to those without prophylaxis (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.35-0.76; p <0.01). The number needed to treat with antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent 1 post-procedural infection was 100. None of the comorbidities evaluated showed significant benefit from antimicrobial prophylaxis for prevention of post-procedural infection. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the rate of post-procedural infection after simple office cystourethroscopy was low (0.9%). Though antimicrobial prophylaxis decreased the odds of post-procedural infection overall, the number needed to treat was high (100). Antibiotic prophylaxis was not shown to significantly reduce the risk of post-procedural infection in any of the comorbidity groups we evaluated. These findings suggest that the comorbidities evaluated in this study should not be used to recommend antibiotic prophylaxis for simple cystourethroscopy.