Stable post-TRUS biopsy sepsis rates and antibiotic resistance over 5 years in patients from Newcastle, New South Wales

Sepsis after transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy is a potentially serious complication. Antibiotic prophylaxis reduces the risk of sepsis; however, practices are highly variable among urologists. Several reports show increasing incidence of bacterial resistance in patients with sepsis after TRUSguided biopsy. Preprocedure screening of high-risk patients using cultures from rectal swabs would allow targeted prophylaxis. We performed a retrospective audit of all men undergoing a TRUS-guided prostate biopsy by one of nine urologists in Newcastle, New South Wales, to assess the incidence of bacteraemia and changes in antimicrobial susceptibility