Prostate Biopsy in Older Men May Increase Hospitalizations

A new study has found that men over the age of 65 who have undergone prostate biopsy have a roughly 7% chance of being hospitalized within the following month. This represents basically a doubling in the rate of hospitalization versus men over 65 who did not have a recent prostate biopsy.

The researchers, from Johns Hopkins University, postulated that the increased hospitalizations were at least in part due to increased rates of infection following biopsy.  They also theorized that this increase may be due to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are not killed by the standard pre-biopsy doses of antibiotics that all men receive.

This study appears in the November issue of The Journal of Urology.