# Assessing peri-operative antibiotic administration practices amongst urologic surgeons performing holmium laser enucleation of the prostate worldwide

## TL;DR

This study examines how urologists worldwide prescribe antibiotics before and after a prostate surgery called HoLEP, finding significant variation in practices.

## Contribution

The study provides the first global assessment of antibiotic prescribing patterns for HoLEP, highlighting inconsistencies and influencing factors.

## Key findings

- 96% of urologists give a single antibiotic dose for patients without catheterization and negative urine cultures.
- Post-operative antibiotics are more commonly prescribed for patients with a history of catheterization or infection.
- Non-academic urologists prescribe post-operative antibiotics more frequently than academic ones.

## Abstract

Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP) is a size-independent surgical treatment for benign prostatic hypertrophy. There is currently a lack of data on peri-operative antibiotic prescribing patterns for HoLEP and, thus, no consensus on optimal practices. This study aims to assess peri-operative antibiotic prescribing practices for HoLEP.

Members of the Endourological Society (EUS) were invited by e-mail to complete a REDCap survey. The survey inquired about surgeons’ practice setting, training, surgical volume, antibiotic prescribing practices and explored different factors that might affect antibiotic choice and duration. A p-value of < 0.05 was determined to be statistically significant.

A total of 70 Urologists (66 male, 4 female) reported that they performed an average of 108 HoLEPs per year with a mean clinical experience of 11 years. In the case of a negative pre-operative urine culture with a patient who is not catheterized/intermittently self-catheterizing (C/ISC), 96% of urologists would only give a single peri-operative dose of antibiotic. If the patient is C/ISC then 49% of Urologists would give more than a single dose of peri-operative antibiotic when the urine culture is negative. If the pre-operative urine culture is negative, 39% of surgeons would prescribe post-operative antibiotics even when the patient is not C/ISC and this increased to 64% if the patient is C/ISC. The most common factors urologists considered when prescribing antibiotic prophylaxis/therapy were positive urine culture, catheterization status, and a history of recurrent UTIs. Non-academic urologists administered post-operative prophylaxis more often (p < 0.05) and urologists with more experience treated a positive urine culture for a shorter period.

There is significant variability for peri-operative antibiotic prescribing practices prior to HoLEP. In general, more antibiotics are prescribed if the patient has a history of C/ISC or infection. Further clinical studies are needed to identify optimal antibiotic prescribing protocols prior to HoLEP.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00345-025-05535-2.