Background: Double J ureteral stents have been widely used in urological practice. They are
liable to biofilm formation on their outer or inner surfaces.
Objectives: To assess the effect of oral co-trimoxazole on decreasing bacterial adherence and
biofilm formation on double J ureteral stent surfaces and subsequent post-operative urinary
tract infection.
Patients and methods: 109 patients undergoing double J ureteral stent insertion in our department
randomized into two groups group A (55 patients) not taking any antibiotics during
the indwelling time “control group" and group B (54 patients) on oral co-trimoxazole (2 TMP
mg/kg/day) during the indwelling time. Two weeks post double J stent insertion, urine analysis
was done for all patients and urine culture was done for patients with significant pyuria (WBCs
=> 20 by high power field). One-month post-operative, double J stent was removed anda segment
of about 3-5 cm is sent for culture. All results recorded and analyzed with Statistical
Package for Social Science® (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel 2010.
Results: 63.6% of group A (35 patients) were positive stent culture, while 37% of group B (20
patients) were positive stent culture. Escherichia coli was the organism most commonly isolated
from the stent culture in both groups.
Conclusion: This study shows that oral co-trimoxazole has a role on decreasing bacterial adherence
and biofilm formation on double J ureteral stent surfaces.