Factors influencing bacterial colonization of double J ureteral stents: A prospective study

Background: To investigate the microorganisms responsible for double J stent (DJS) colonization, bacteriuria, and the drug susceptibility of the isolates. We also tried to determine factors associated with stent colonization, such as indwelling time, sex, age, and comorbidities. Materials and methods: This study is a prospective analysis of patients following DJS ablation. A total of 155 patients from our institution were enrolled in this study between January 2023 and May 2023. Bladder urine was collected in a sterile container prior to stent removal for bacteriological exam. The removed stents were divided into three parts: top (Renal), middle (Ureteral), and bottom (Bladder); 3 cm pieces from each part were taken and placed in a sterile test tube for bacteriological investigation. Results: The mean age of patients with positive stent culture was 61.17±12.82 versus 55.94±10.32 when stent culture is negative, which is statistically significant P =0.016. Diabetes and bacteriuria are both correlated with DJS contamination with P <0.001 in the two cases. The mean duration of the use of DJS in patients with colonized stent culture is 6.45±2.98 months versus 4.06±2.20 months for the other patients; the difference is statistically significant P <0.001. The most commonly isolated pathogens on stents were Gram-negative bacilli (53.2%), dominated by Enterobacteriaceae in 19 cases (55.2%). Conclusion: Indwelling time is the only unanimous factor of stent colonization in literature, so we recommend using DJS only if necessary and to remove it as soon as possible.