Copyright © 2009 Dong Soo Park et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose. To determine the effect of simple use of suppository povidone-iodine on infectious complications after transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy of the prostate. Methods. All 481 patients are included and received antibiotic prophylaxis. Among them, 360 patients received povidone-iodine suppository (Gynobetadine; 200 mg) immediately prior to biopsy and 121 patients did not. Infectious complications were classified. To evaluate bactericidal effects, we counted bacterial colonies in the rectum, harvested from a rectal swab before insertion of the suppository and after biopsy. Aliquots of the suspended bacterial strains were added to Mueller-Hinton agar medium for incubation. Colony counts were determined. Results. Infectious complications developed in 1 case (0.3%) in the rectal preparation group (Group 1) and in 8 cases (6.6%) in the nonrectal preparation group (Group 2). One in Group 1 had a fever without sepsis. Two patients had sepsis and six had fever without sepsis in Group 2. Rectal preparation was a statistically significant risk factor influencing the development of infectious complications. In vitro experiments, the mean number of colony-forming units decreased 99.9% after the rectal povidone-iodine preparation. Conclusions. All through the biopsy, povidone-iodine melted into the rectum and decreased the bacterial colony count. Simple use of povidone-iodine suppository before prostate biopsy minimizes the risk of infectious complications.