Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Short-Term Postoperative Transurethral Foley Catheter Use in Women

In Brief Objectives: To determine if antibiotic prophylaxis during short-term outpatient Foley catheter use in women with urinary retention after suburethral sling decreases bacteriuria within 30 days of surgery. Methods: Retrospective study comparing women prophylaxed with nitrofurantoin and women who were not. Primary outcome was positive (103 cfu/mL) catheterized urine culture specimen within 30 days of surgery. To demonstrate an 80% decrease in bacteriuria from 24%, with 80% power and alpha of 0.05, each group required 51 women. Results: Of 134 women, 53 received prophylaxis and 81 did not. No preoperative differences existed between groups (all P > 0.05). Fifty-three women had documented bacteriuria (103 cfu/mL) within 30 days of surgery with no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (prophylaxis vs. no prophylaxis, 17/53 [32%] vs. 36/81 [44%], P = 0.15). Conclusion: Antibiotic prophylaxis during short-term transurethral catheterization after suburethral sling did not reduce bacteriuria in our population. Retrospective study comparing women prophylaxed with nitrofurantoin and women who were not. Antibiotic prophylaxis during short-term transurethral catheterization after suburethral sling did not reduce bacteriuria in our population.