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Abstract

We would like to thank the reviewers for their comments. As the first and most important principle in medicine, “Primum Non-Nocere” must guide the practice of every physician. Our study, on the efficiency of recommended reprocessing procedures for transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies of the prostate, highlights the limitation every physician must acknowledge—every treatment we offer our patients harbors risk. The issue of infections after transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies of the prostate is further emphasized when considering that bacterial contamination might be a surrogate marker of co-contamination with viral particles that might be hazardous. Our study is rather sporadic and intended to point out possible contamination. Editorial CommentUrologyVol. 77Issue 1PreviewIt goes without saying that the utmost precautions should be taken to avoid iatrogenic infections resulting from urologic procedures. Appropriate disinfection of instruments before any invasive procedure is one of the steps taken to accomplish this goal. Although this might be obvious, it is not always correctly practiced. Gillepsie et al1 described an outbreak of serious infections related to contamination of transrectal ultrasound biopsy instruments a number of years ago. In response, the Food and Drug Administration released information clarifying the steps that should be taken to clean and disinfect such devices. Full-Text PDF