The Changing Epidemiology and Microbiology of Patients With Prostate Abscess: Increase in Staphylococcal Infection

Background Prostatic abscesses are rare and have been most commonly associated with gram-negative bacteria; however, Staphylococcus aureus has emerged as a leading cause, particularly in persons who are immunocompromised. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients discharged from Ben Taub Hospital with a diagnosis of prostatic abscess during January 2011–January 2019. Demographic, clinical, microbiologic, and radiographic data were abstracted from the patients’ charts and analyzed for comorbidities, causative organisms, clinical course, and outcomes. Results We identified 32 patients with a prostatic abscess during the study period. S. aureus was the most common causative organism (18/32, 56%). Most patients (24/32, 75%) were admitted to a general medicine service, and the median length of stay was 9 days. Twenty-one patients (66%) were treated with a combination of surgical drainage and antibiotic therapy; 11 (34%) were treated with antibiotics alone. All patients treated with antibiotics alone had full clinical recovery. Two patients (6.3%) died, both of whom had septic shock secondary to disseminated S. aureus infection. Conclusions Prostatic abscesses are rare and can be difficult to diagnose, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. S. aureus is a frequent causative organism especially in persons with diabetes mellitus or other immunocompromising conditions. Hematogenous spread of S. aureus infection to the prostate appears common. Prostatic abscesses can serve as the nidus of disseminated S. aureus infection.

Prostatic abscess with infected aneurysms and spondylodiscitis after transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy: a case report and literature review

Background Transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy is the conventional method of diagnosing prostate cancer. TRUS-guided prostate biopsy can occasionally be associated with severe complications. Here, we report the first case of a prostate abscess with aneurysms and spondylodiscitis as a complication of TRUS-guided prostate biopsy, and we review the relevant literature. Case presentation A 78-year-old man presented with back pain, sepsis, and prostate abscesses. Twenty days after TRUS-guided prostate biopsy, he was found to have a 20-mm diameter abdominal aortic aneurysm that expanded to 28.2 mm in the space of a week, despite antibiotic therapy. Therefore, he underwent transurethral resection of the prostate to control prostatic abscesses. Although his aneurysm decreased to 23 mm in size after surgery, he continued to experience back pain. He was diagnosed as having pyogenic spondylitis and this was managed using a lumbar corset. Sixty-four days after the prostate biopsy, the aneurysm had re-expanded to 30 mm; therefore, we performed endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) using a microcore stent graft 82 days after the biopsy. Four days after the EVAR, the patient developed acute cholecystitis, and he underwent endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage. One hundred and sixty days after the prostate biopsy, all the complications had improved, and he was discharged. A literature review identified a further six cases of spondylodiscitis that had occurred after transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy. Conclusions We have reported the first case of a complication of TRUS-guided prostate biopsy that involved prostatic abscesses, aneurysms, and spondylodiscitis. Although such complications are uncommon, clinicians should be aware of the potential for such severe complications of this procedure to develop.

Septic Shock with Chlamydia Pneumoniae Secondary to Prostatic Abscess: A Rare Case Report

Prostatic abscesses are a rare clinical entity in current practice due to the widespread use of antibiotics. Management usually imposes a challenge to urologists that is due to the difficult diagnosis, as it may mimic other diseases of the lower urinary tract and the lack of guidelines for treatment. Prostate abscess (PA) usually develops in immunocompromised patients, including diabetic and HIV patients, as a consequence of acute bacterial prostatitis. The reason for the lack of guidelines as regards PA is that most of the published data in the literature are case reports due to the declining incidence of the disease today. We presented a male patient who was not foreknown with pathological or personal antecedents or a promiscuous lifestyle. He was hospitalized in the urology section with subfebrility and lumbar pain. His general condition changed rapidly within the span of a few hours, the patient entering septic shock without an etiology or a determined infection. After careful serial investigations, hemocultures (atypical germs) for IgM antibodies Chlamydia Pneumoniae were found in the serological complement fixation (cf) test. The patient responded well to empirically initiated antibiotic treatment upon admission to Intensive Care. Due to a favorable evolution, the patient was declared clinically healthy upon discharge. This was a rare case in medical literature of septic shock of initially unspecified etiology but which, upon thorough investigations and urological reevaluation, revealed a prostatic abscess with Chlamydia Pneumoniae, exteriorized through the urethra and highlighted through positive hemocultures only.

Transurethral Retrograde Approach to Pelvic Abscess Drainage in Post-cystectomy Patients

One potential complication of radical cystectomy is the development of a pelvic abscess requiring drainage. Transurethral drainage has been described for the treatment of prostatic abscesses but is particularly well tolerated in patients for whom pelvic fluid drainage is needed following radical cystectomy. Although percutaneous, transrectal, or transvaginal approaches to pelvic drain placement are possible, the transurethral route provides a fully epithelialized tract through which the drainage catheter can traverse and which does not require unnecessary tissue puncture. Although blind Foley catheter placement could potentially be used for transurethral drainage in these patients, urologic surgeons have preferred fluoroscopically guided drain placement to ensure atraumatic placement and optimal drain positioning. In a stepwise fashion, this chapter describes how to perform fluoroscopy-guided transurethral abscess drainage in patients following cystectomy.