The incidence of urinary tract infection in patients without bacteriuria who underwent extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

The incidence and severity of urinary tract infections in 145 patients with renal calculi undergoing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL*) who were catheterized for a short period without evidence of bacteriuria and/or infected stones evaluated. The patients were followed clinically and bacteriologically 1 and 14 days after the procedure. Bacteriuria was observed in 7 of the 145 patients (4.8%): in 5 patients 24 hours after ESWL and in 2 patients 2 weeks later. Of these patients 2 were symptomatic but only 1 had fever. No patient was hospitalized. We found no correlation between bacteriuria and the number or size of the stones. We conclude that the incidence of bacteriuria in catheterized patients who underwent ESWL without urinary tract infection is low and the use of antibiotics in these patients is probably not indicated.