DJ STENT COLONIZATION PATTERNS: EXPLORING MICROBIAL PROFILES AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Abstract

With the advancement of endourology, a great variety of biomaterial devices have been developed. Several studies have reported that the formation of biofilm and device infection are commonly observed manifestations that lead to urinary tract infections. An indwelling double J ureteral stent carries a significant risk; a negative urine culture does not rule out a colonized stent. Hence, assessing the extent of stent colonization without positive voided urine culture is crucial. This cross-sectional study involved 44 patients, aged between 14 to 88 years, coming to the Department of Urology at Indus Hospital Karachi to remove DJ stents from April 2019 to October 2019. The samples were collected through a non-probability consecutive technique. Urine samples, before removal of the stent along with distal portions of the DJ stent, were sent for cultural analysis to study bacteriuria and stent colonization. The whole data was analyzed on SPSS version 22.0. The study found that five patients (11.4%) had colonization of the distal end of the DJ stent, and Burkholderia cepacia was the most common microorganism. However, n=31; 70.4% of patients had colonization in post-DJ stent urine, and Pseudomonas was the most common microorganism (n=14; 45.2%). Stent colonization had no significant association with age, gender, and positive urine culture. Most colonized stents were asymptomatic. Despite these observations, it is critical to emphasize that using DJ stents is still a generally recognized and safe treatment. Future studies should look at other aspects that colonization patterns may impact in improving the safety and management of DJ stent use.