Best Practice Policy Statement on Urologic Surgery Antimicrobial Prophylaxis

Recommendations are based on a review of the literature and the Panel members' expert opinions.

The potential benefit of antimicrobial prophylaxis is determined by patient factors, procedure factors, and the potential morbidity of infection. Antimicrobial prophylaxis is recommended only when the potential benefit outweighs the risks and anticipated costs (including expense of agent and administration, risk of allergic reactions or other adverse effects, and induction of bacterial resistance). The prophylactic agent should be effective against organisms characteristic of the operative site. Cost, convenience, and safety of the agent also should be considered. The duration of antimicrobial prophylaxis should extend throughout the period when bacterial invasion is facilitated and/or likely to establish an infection. Prophylaxis should begin within 60 minutes of the surgical incision (120 minutes for intravenous fluoroquinolines and vancomycin) and generally should be discontinued within 24 hours. The AHA no longer recommends antimicrobial prophylaxis for genitourinary surgery solely to prevent infectious endocarditis. Justifications and recommendations for specific antimicrobial prophylactic regimens for specific categories of urologic procedures are provided.