Positive Culture Prior to Transperineal Prostate Biopsy Was Not Associated with Post-Biopsy Febrile Urinary Tract Infection Development

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between urine culture before transperineal prostate biopsy and post-biopsy febrile urinary tract infection (fUTI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 307 patients who underwent urine culture before transperineal prostate biopsy between April 2017 and September 2020. Patients with indwelling urinary catheters (n=7) were excluded. Urine culture was performed 1–3 days before the biopsy, and all patients received prophylactic cefazolin regardless of culture results. A urine culture was defined as positive if cell density was more than 1×10(5) colony-forming units per mL. Baseline characteristics and the incidence of post-biopsy fUTI were compared between patients showing positive pre-biopsy culture results and those showing negative findings. RESULTS: Out of 300, seven patients (2.3%) had positive urine culture results before the biopsy. Age (p=0.077); prostate-specific antigen at diagnosis (p=0.267); prostate volume (p=0.78); number of biopsy cores (p=0.277); percentage of patients testing positive for cancer on biopsy (p=0.71); and percentages of patients with a history of biopsy (p>0.999), diabetes mellitus (p=0.604), and immunosuppressive medication use (p>0.999) were similar between the two groups. No patient in the positive urine culture group had post-biopsy fUTI. However, 1.7% (five patients) of the negative urine culture group had the disease (p>0.999) (four patients with prostatitis and one with pyelonephritis). Among them, two patients were diagnosed by urine culture at the time of post-biopsy fUTI. CONCLUSION: In asymptomatic patients, positive pre-biopsy cultures were not associated with the development of post-biopsy fUTI.