Are complications of transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies of the prostate gland increasing?
Dodds, P.R.; Boucher, J.D.; Shield, D.E.; Bernie, J.E.; Batter, S.J.; Serels, S.R.; Dodds, J.H.
Connecticut Medicine 75(8): 453-457
2011
ISSN/ISBN: 0010-6178 PMID: 21980673 Document Number: 653488
Although transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies (TRUSB) of the prostate gland are generally considered to be low-risk procedures, a study from Canada reported that there had been a significant increase in the percentage of hospital admissions following TRUSBs between 1996 and 2005 (1.0% to 4.1%). The authors speculated that the increase may be secondary to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant enteric bacteria or the result of an increasing number of cores taken with each TRUSB. In a chart review, we retrospectively evaluated complications from 2,080 consecutive TRUSBs performed by one urology group in Connecticut between January 2003 and August 2010. We identified seven patients (0.34%) who were admitted to an acute-care hospital for infectious complications and three patients (0.14%) who were admitted for bleeding. The risk of serious infections and bleeding did not significantly rise during the study period despite a significant increase in the mean number of biopsy cores taken.