Purpose: Urinary catheter placement is common during atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation when performed under general anesthesia. Whether patients undergoing AF ablation would benefit from prophylactic antibiotics is unknown.
Methods: Patients undergoing AF ablation in a single center from December 2011 until June 2016 were included. All patients received urinary catheters and general anesthesia. After June 2014, patients received antibiotic prophylaxis with a single dose of oral nitrofurantoin and a catheter insertion checklist performed prior to urinary catheter placement. The intervention group (group B) was compared to the pre-intervention group (group A) for development of the primary outcome. A multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine if any of the covariates were associated with catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) development.
Results: There were 452 patients who underwent AF ablation during the analysis period (212 in group A and 240 in group B). The average patient age was 60 years (range 23-85) and 70% of the patients were male. Utilizing an intention to treat approach, there was a significantly lower incidence of CAUTI in the intervention group compared to controls (4.7 vs. 0.83%; OR 0.18, p = 0.029). There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to urinary tract infection risk factors or catheter duration.
Conclusion: An intervention consisting of a single dose of nitrofurantoin in addition to performance of a catheter insertion checklist prior to urinary catheter insertion decreased CAUTI by 80% in patients undergoing AF ablation. Such interventions may be beneficial to reduce CAUTI in this group of patients.
Keywords: Antibiotic prophylaxis; Atrial fibrillation; Catheter ablation; Quality improvement; Urinary catheter-associated urinary tract infection.