Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UroToday.com) It is commonly known that drainage of the upper urinary tract with indwelling ureteral stents often occurs following ureterolithotripsy. However, stent placement and indwelling has also been found to be associated with increased risks of infection postoperatively as ureteral stents are often colonized by diverse strains of uropathogens. It was the aim of Dr. Thatiana M. Brasil’s study to analyze and correlate the incidence and bacteriological profile of cases where positive urine cultures, stent cultures, and/or blood cultures were noted in patients who presented with postoperative urinary sepsis.
In her study, Dr. Brasil recruited patients who underwent ureteral stent placement following ureterolithotripsy due to obstructing stones. Urine cultures and hemograms were collected preoperatively and all patients received a seven-day course of antibiotics. After the removal of the ureteral stent, Dr. Brasil and her team analyzed the distal tip of the ureteral stent for microbiological cultures. In addition, the indwelling time of the ureteral stent was recorded and blood cultures were collected for patients who were treated for urinary sepsis.
Dr. Brasil’s resulted demonstrated that female sex, older age, and longer ureteral stent indwelling times usually correlated with higher incidences of positive urine cultures. Normally, bacteria that are found to be present on the stent culture usually differ from those isolated in urine cultures. However, for patients with urosepsis, Dr. Brasil found that the same bacteria that were found to be present in preoperative urine cultures were similar to those found on stent cultures. It is her conclusion that urine culture results, therefore, may be an effective guide in treating patients with urosepsis.
Presented by: Thatiana Brasil, MD, Urology Resident, Hospital Quinta D'Or, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Written by Andrew Shea Afyouni, BS, Junior Research Specialist and Medical Student, University of California, Irvine Department of Urology. Medical Writer for UroToday.com at the 37th World Congress of Endourology (WCE) – October 29th-November 2nd, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates