Comprehensive analysis of complications after transperineal prostate biopsy without antibiotic prophylaxis: results of a multicenter trial with 30 days’ follow-up

Background To investigate infectious and non-infectious complications after transperineal prostate biopsy (TPB) without antibiotic prophylaxis in a multicenter cohort. Secondly, to identify whether increasing the number of cores was predictive for the occurrence of complications. Thirdly, to examine the relation between TPB and erectile dysfunction. Methods We analyzed a retrospective multicenter cohort of 550 patients from three different urological centers undergoing TPB without antibiotic prophylaxis. The median number of cores was 26. Demographic and clinical data were extracted by reviewing patients’ electronic medical records and follow-up data such as postoperative complications obtained by structured phone interviews. To investigate the influence of the number of cores taken on the occurrence of complications, we performed univariate and multivariate mixed effects logistic regression models. Results There was no case of sepsis reported. Overall, 6.0% of patients (33/550) presented with any complication besides mild macrohematuria. In all, 46/47 (98%) complications were ≤Grade 2 according to Clavien–Dindo. In multivariate regression analyses, an increased number of cores was associated with overall complications (odds ratio (OR) 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.14, P = 0.01) and specifically bleeding complications (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.11–1.50, P = 0.01) but not with infectious complications (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.97–1.10, P = 0.67). A total of 14.4% of patients referred impairment of erectile function after TPB. Of note, 98% of these men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Conclusions This is the first multicenter trial to investigate complications after TPB without antibiotic prophylaxis. In our study, we found no case of sepsis. This underlines the safety advantage of TPB even without antibiotic prophylaxis and supports the ongoing initiative to abandon TRB of the prostate. A higher number of cores were associated with an increase in overall complications specifically bleeding complications, but not with infectious complications. Post-biopsy erectile dysfunction was mainly present in patients diagnosed with PCa.