Ureterostomy, utis and metagenomics

🔬Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs): a Damocles' sword for ureterostomized patients? 🔬

Many men (mostly) and women confronting Invasive Bladder Cancer, save their lives with a spectacular intervention called Radical Cystectomy (RC) including some kind of Ureterostomy (to divert urine).

💡Nowadays, studies like these one by huang et al., 2023 are increasing awareness about the crucial role that metagenomics foresees on the betterment of healthcare for these patients, who are exposed to continuous Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs).

While still it’s a challenge to distinguish between colonizing bacteria and infectious bacteria, metagenomics clearly opens the field for monitoring the prevalence of highly virulent and drug-resistant microorganisms in ureterostomized patients.

ACCESS THE FULL PAPER HERE => huang et al., 2023.

what is a radical cystectomy and why it exposes patients to recurrent UTIs?

A ureterostomy is a surgical procedure where one or both ureters (the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder) are redirected to the surface of the abdomen. This creates a stoma, an opening in the abdominal wall, through which urine can be expelled directly from the body. Ureterostomies are often performed when the bladder is removed or is no longer functional. For more detailed information, please visit the Wikipedia page on Ureterostomy.