Researchers from the University of Toronto and Johns Hopkins have discovered a dramatic increase in infections following prostate biopsies in recent years, according to an NPR news report.
Results from the University of Toronto study, published last year in the Journal of Urology, found the rate of infections requiring hospitalization among Ontario men undergoing prostate biopsies increased fourfold over a 10-year period.
The Johns Hopkins study found similar results. Researchers found 7 percent of more than 150,000 Medicare patients experienced serious complications that required hospitalization within 30 days after a prostate biopsy. Although infections only make up a fraction of the total complications, Johns Hopkins researchers noted the rate of serious infections increased significantly in the last decade compared to noninfectious complications, which remained flat, according to the news report.
Anthony Schaeffer, MD, a urologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, developed a method to combat the growing rate of infections after prostate biopsies. The method involves examining a male patient's intestinal tract to determine whether his body harbors any antibiotic-resistant bacteria and administering the appropriate antibiotics before the biopsy, according to the news report. The method reportedly helped reduce Northwestern Memorial's post-biopsy infection rate to zero.
Read the news report about prostate biopsy infections.
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Results from the University of Toronto study, published last year in the Journal of Urology, found the rate of infections requiring hospitalization among Ontario men undergoing prostate biopsies increased fourfold over a 10-year period.
The Johns Hopkins study found similar results. Researchers found 7 percent of more than 150,000 Medicare patients experienced serious complications that required hospitalization within 30 days after a prostate biopsy. Although infections only make up a fraction of the total complications, Johns Hopkins researchers noted the rate of serious infections increased significantly in the last decade compared to noninfectious complications, which remained flat, according to the news report.
Anthony Schaeffer, MD, a urologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, developed a method to combat the growing rate of infections after prostate biopsies. The method involves examining a male patient's intestinal tract to determine whether his body harbors any antibiotic-resistant bacteria and administering the appropriate antibiotics before the biopsy, according to the news report. The method reportedly helped reduce Northwestern Memorial's post-biopsy infection rate to zero.
Read the news report about prostate biopsy infections.
Related Articles on Infections:
Patient Safety Tool: APIC's Guide to the Elimination of Orthopedic Surgical SSIs
Study: Antibiotic Linezolid an Effective Treatment for MRSA Infection
Study: Healthcare Workers May Blame External Factors for MRSA Infections
