Is Presence of Bacteria in Preoperative Microscopic Urinalysis of the Patients Scheduled for Cardiac Surgery a Reason for Cancellation of Elective Operation?

BACKGROUND: In some hospitals, urinalysis is done routinely for all patients scheduled for cardiac surgery. Occasionally pyuria or bacteria is reported in the microscopic urinalysis of these patients that are clinically asymptomatic for urinary tract infections. OBJECTIVES: We were seeking answer to this question: is the presence of a different number of bacteria in preoperative microscopic urinalysis of asymptomatic patients scheduled for cardiac surgery indicative of potential postoperative complications and as a result, a good reason to postpone the operation? PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study based on the review of the medical records of 1165 patients who underwent open-heart surgery. RESULTS: One hundered and fifty one patients were eligible in our established criteria. There were no significant difference between their demographic characteristics and the same number of randomly selected patients with normal urinalysis who had underwent open-heart surgery. In the bacteriuria group, two patients, and in the control group, three patients had an infection at the operation sites in the post-operative period, which was not a significant finding between two groups (P = 0.503). CONCLUSIONS: We recommend that in the absence of symptoms of urinary tract infection, urinalysis is not necessary and not cost beneficial in the preoperative evaluation of patients scheduled for open-heart surgery.