Assessment of a 24-hour Preoperative Course of Antibiotic Therapy for Endoscopic Urological Surgery in Case of Positive Urine Culture

Overview

Endourology poses the problem of post-operative infections. The need to obtain a negative urine culture prior to surgery is accepted, and the effectiveness of this measure in reducing the risk of post-operative infection has been proven. Current French recommendations are unanimous in favour of preventive treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria (positive urine culture) prior to urological procedures involving contact with urine. These same recommendations specify that treatment should be brief, with a preoperative course of antibiotics lasting 48 hours. However, the scientific literature on the subject does not provide an answer to the question of whether 48 hours is the optimal duration of preoperative antibiotic treatment to avoid the risk of postoperative infection. In this context, it is interesting to evaluate a duration of preoperative antibiotic therapy limited to 24 hours, as no study can confirm that 24 hours of treatment is insufficient to prevent post-operative infection.

Endourology poses the problem of post-operative infections. The need to obtain a negative urine culture prior to surgery is accepted, and the effectiveness of this measure in reducing the risk of post-operative infection has been proven. Current French recommendations are unanimous in favour of preventive treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria (positive urine culture) prior to urological procedures involving contact with urine. These same recommendations specify that treatment should be brief, with a preoperative course of antibiotics lasting 48 hours. However, the scientific literature on the subject does not provide an answer to the question of whether 48 hours is the optimal duration of preoperative antibiotic treatment to avoid the risk of postoperative infection. Studies have shown that a single parenteral administration of antibiotics in the context of asymptomatic bacteriuria prior to urological surgery is effective in preventing post-operative infection. Furthermore, in some practical situations related to the time taken for the laboratory to return urine culture results, preoperative antibiotic therapy has been limited to 24 hours without any infections developing. In this context, it is interesting to evaluate a duration of preoperative antibiotic therapy limited to 24 hours, as no study can confirm that 24 hours of treatment is insufficient to prevent post-operative infection.