Loeb S, van den Heuvel S, Zhu X, Bangma CH, Schröder FH, Roobol MJ.
“Infectious Complications and Hospital Admissions After Prostate Biopsy in a European Randomized Trial.”
European Urology June 2012; 61: 1110-4. PMID: 22244150
Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22244150
Among men undergoing prostate biopsy in the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC), 4% developed a fever and 0.8% were admitted to the hospital. Although the risk of hospitalization for infection increased over time, the absolute frequency was low. Because this same trial showed that screening reduces advanced disease and prostate cancer death, the risk of biopsy-related complications should not dissuade healthy men with a sufficient life expectancy to benefit from early detection from undergoing an indicated prostate biopsy.