ABSTRACT
Background and objective: Advances in for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided transperineal biopsy (TPBx) techniques have facilitated outpatient prostate biopsies under local anaesthesia to lower postbiopsy infection rates. However, there is debate regarding antibiotic prophylaxis because of concerns regarding antibiotic resistance and interactions. Our objective was to assess the transition from office-based transrectal biopsy to TPBx performed under local anaesthesia without antibiotic prophylaxis despite potential risk factors for infectious complications. Methods: We conducted a prospective assessment of 665 men undergoing office-based MRI-guided TPBx. The primary outcome was the rate of urosepsis or febrile urinary tract infections requiring hospitalisation and/or antibiotics within 2 wk after biopsy. Secondary outcomes included patient-reported procedure tolerability and the prostate cancer detection rate. Key findings and limitations: TPBx using a median of nine cores per patient (range 4-15) detected prostate cancer in 534/665 men (80%). Only four men (0.6%) were hospitalised for suspected postbiopsy infection; no patient experienced urosepsis. The TPBx procedure was well tolerated, with low pain scores (median Visual Analogue Scale score of 2, interquartile range [IQR] 1-3) and positive patient ratings (median rating 1 [no problem], IQR 1-2). Limitations include the single-centre analysis and lack of randomisation for antibiotic prophylaxis. Conclusions and clinical implications: An office-based TPBx strategy under local anaesthesia without antibiotic prophylaxis is well tolerated and has a very low risk of side effects. This approach should be considered as the standard of care. Further studies may determine if a subgroup of predisposed men could benefit from antibiotic prophylaxis. Patient summary: For prostate biopsy the sampling needle can be inserted through the rectum or through the perineum, which is the skin between the rectum and the scrotum. Our study confirms that in everyday clinical practice, prostate biopsy via the perineum can be carried out under local anaesthetic and without routine use of antibiotics because of its lower risk of infection. Patients reported low pain scores and positive ratings for the overall experience.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess patient preference regarding the length of treatment intervals of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists for prostate cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted as a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study at a large university hospital. A specific questionnaire was developed based on current literature, clinical experience and a pilot phase of the study. The primary endpoint was preferred treatment frequency. Secondary outcome measures included reasons for preferred treatment frequency, treatment satisfaction and side-effects. Overall, 238 men receiving ADT for prostate cancer were presented with the questionnaire between September 2011 and May 2012. Descriptive statistics, the chi-squared test and multiple regression were used for analyses. RESULTS: In total, 176 questionnaires (74%) were available for analysis. A total of 38.1% of participants preferred frequent treatment ("Every month", "Every third month"), 32.4% preferred infrequent treatment ("Every sixth month", "Every twelfth month") and 29.6% stated that length of the treatment intervals made no difference (p = 0.37). Patients with disease progression were most likely to prefer frequent treatment (odds ratio 4.4, 95% confidence interval 1.9-10.4). Overall, 84.1% were satisfied with treatment while one patient (0.6%) was dissatisfied. Nine per cent indicated severe side-effects. CONCLUSIONS: Less frequent ADT treatment may help to lower the pressure on healthcare systems and may be of benefit for a large group of patients. However, it cannot be prescribed blindly without possibly affecting patient satisfaction. The choice of treatment intervals should be made in collaboration between the physician and the patient.
