WEDNESDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- A preoperative dose of intravenous antibiotics may reduce the risk of infection in patients undergoing abdominoplasty, researchers report in the April issue of the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery.
Asuman Sevin, M.D., of Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, and colleagues randomly assigned 207 patients to receive either no antibiotics, preoperative antibiotics only, or preoperative and postoperative antibiotics.
The investigators found that 20 patients showed bacterial growth in the intraoperative bacterial culture, including 10 in the no antibiotics group, three in the preoperative antibiotics-only group, and seven in the preoperative and postoperative antibiotics group. They identified the most common organisms as Staphylococcus epidermidis (90 percent), Enterobacter (5 percent) and Corynebacterium diphtheria (5 percent). Their analysis showed a significant difference in the incidence of infection between the no-antibiotics group and the two antibiotics groups, but no difference between the preoperative antibiotics and preoperative/postoperative antibiotics groups.
"It is impossible to provide an exact guideline for abdominoplasty operations," the authors conclude. "Cases have clean wounds and the literature appears to indicate that there may be a role for prophylactic antibiotic use in aesthetic operations. We recommend a single preoperative dose of intravenous antibiotic to prevent infection and also secure the patient from antibiotic side effects."
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
