Prophylactic antibiotic treatment following laparoscopic robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for the prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections: did the AUA guidelines make a difference?

We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the American Urological Association (AUA) antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines in patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP). Our prospective registry database was reviewed for all RALP cases. The following variables were evaluated: age, associated comorbidities, body mass index (BMI), total operative time, length of stay (LOS), prostate weight, pathological grade and stage. Until 11/2011, RALP patients were treated with antibiotics administered in the operating room and continued until urethral catheter removal. Since 11/2011, all patients were treated with a single intravenous dose of Cephalosporin and Aminoglycoside given within 30 min of surgical incision. The rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) was evaluated in both groups. 229 RALP patients were identified. The first 60 patients (26.2%) were treated according to the old protocol (Group 1) while the remaining 169 (73.8%) were treated according to the new protocol (Group 2). Group match was identified in all categories but LOS. Moreover, LOS was found to be longer in Group 1 compared with Group 2 (5.8 vs. 4.5 days, p < 0.001). CAUTI rate was similar in both groups (8.3 vs. 8.9%, respectively, p = 0.89). Logistic regression analysis did not demonstrate any association between treatment protocol and potential risk for CAUTI. Therefore, a single preoperative dose of antibiotics does not increase the rate of CAUTI following RALP compared with prolonged antibiotic treatment. Moreover, it was found to be associated with shorter LOS. Complying with the AUA guidelines may reduce morbidity and medical costs.