Should renal pelvic urine culture be obtained routinely in flexible
ureterorenoscopy?
Abstract
Background: Preoperative bladder urine culture (PBUC) analysis has
become a standard application before any stone surgery. When growth is
detected in PBUC, it is contraindicated to perform flexible
ureterorenoscopy (f-URS). The results of the PBUC susceptibility test do
not correlate well with those of the renal pelvic urine culture (RPUC)
analysis. Previous studies have demonstrated the positivity of RPUC as
an important marker for the development of infections after endoscopic
operations. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the consistency
between PBUC and RPUC and to identify preoperative markers associated
with a positive RPUC. Methods: Data from 129 patients who underwent
f-URS on renal and proximal ureteral stones in two centers between 2015
and 2020 were prospectively recorded in a database and retrospectively
analyzed. PBUC was obtained from all the patients preoperatively, and
RPUC was taken at the beginning of the f-URS operation. The results of
the two cultures were compared. Results: There was growth in PBUC in 25
(19.4%) patients and RPUC in 35 (27.1%) patients. Possible predictive
markers in predicting a positive RPUC were evaluated using multivariate
logistic regression analysis. Preoperative urine density at the renal
pelvis [odds ratio (OR): 0.848, p<0.001],grade≥2
hydronephrosis (OR:18.970,p=0.001), and lower calyceal stone
localization (OR:0.033,p=0.017) were determined as independent
predictive factors for a positive RPUC. The ability of pelvis urine
density to predict positive RPUC positivity was evaluated using the
receiver operating characteristic analysis, in which the area under the
curve value was determined to be 0.858 (0.780-0.936). The cut-off value
of pelvis urine density in the prediction of RPUC positivity was 4.5, at
which it had 80% sensitivity and 77.7% specificity. Conclusions: PBUC
may not represent true colonization. Although bladder urine culture is
negative before the operation, patients with preoperative hydronephrosis
and low pelvis urine density may have RPUC growth.