Prospective assessment of the efficacy of single dose versus traditional 3-day antimicrobial prophylaxis in 12-core transrectal prostate biopsy.

Objectives: To prospectively evaluate the efficacy of single dose antibiotic prophylaxis in 12-core transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) guided prostate biopsy.

Methods: A total of 400 patients who underwent prostate biopsy with TRUS guidance were included. The patients were prospectively randomized in three groups regarding antibiotic prophylaxis. The first group (139 patients) received a single gram of intramuscular ceftriaxone, while the second group (131 patients) had a 3-day course of oral ciprofloxacin. The third group (130 patients) had single oral 500 mg of ciprofloxacin. All patients had urine cultures prior to biopsy and on the second day after biopsy.

Results: The study groups were compared in terms of the results of urine cultures and clinical parameters. Overall, only seven patients (1.8% of the cases) had positive urine cultures with no difference between these three groups. Additionally, no significant difference was observed regarding morbidity rates in all groups. Only eight patients (2%) developed major complications requiring hospitalization. There was no increase in the rate of infectious complications when the biopsy core numbers were increased up to 12.

Conclusions: The current study suggests that a single oral dose of antimicrobial prophylaxis is reasonable in TRUS prostate biopsy even in the case of 12-core sampling.