Prospective Comparative Study of Two Protocols of Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy

Background and Purpose: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is considered to be a clean-contaminated surgical procedure, and all patients are recommended to receive antibiotic prophylaxis before the operation to prevent septic events. The aim of the present study is to prospectively compare two different protocols of antibiotic prophylaxis in PCNL. Patients and Methods: Seventy-three patients with preoperative sterile urine were randomized into single-dose or short-course antibiotic prophylaxis groups. Patients in the first group (n=36) were given only a single dose of ceftriaxone during induction of anesthesia, while the second group (n=37) were given an oral third-generation cephalosporin after ceftriaxone until nephrostomy catheter withdrawal. For each patient, urine samples that were taken during initial access into the collecting system, as well as some stone fragments, were sent for culture and sensitivity analysis. Moreover, urine samples of the patients were cultured preceding nephrostomy catheter removal. Occurrence of perioperative infection related events was compared in both groups. Results: The demographic and treatment-related characteristics of both groups were similar. Peroperative urine samples revealed bacteriuria in one and two patients for the first and second groups, respectively. Fever of >38 degrees C (P=0.52) developed in four (11.1%) patients in the first and six (16.2%) patients in the second group. Positive stone cultures developed in eight patients; of those, three (8.3%) were in the first and five (13.5%) were in the second group (P=0.47). The urine sent for culture on the nephrostomy catheter withdrawal day had positive results in three and two patients for the first and second groups (P=0.54). Conclusion: Both antibiotic prophylaxis methods were similar in terms of preventing septic complications. Therefore, we think that a single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis protocol may be safely recommended to patients undergoing PCNL.