J Korean Gastric Cancer Assoc.  2008 Sep;8(3):154-159.

The Use of Short-term Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Elective Surgery for Gastric Cancer

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. hmjeon@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE: Although most surgeons generally administer prophylactic antibiotics for more than three days, the optimal duration of antimicrobial prophylaxis in elective gastric surgery is still open to debate. The aim of this study was to determine if the duration of prophylactic antibiotic use can affect the recovery of patients after elective gastric surgery.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 93 patients with gastric cancer were enrolled in this study, between January 2007 and December 2007. Patients were excluded if they had an infection at the time of surgery or they underwent an emergency operation. The first antibiotics were commonly given from just prior to the operation. The patients were divided into three groups according to the operation periods: those who received antibiotics only on the day of operation (arm A), those who received antibiotics for up to 3 days (arm B), and those who received antibiotics for more than 5 days postoperatively (arm C). The antibiotic that was used was second generation cephalosporin.
RESULTS
The rate of surgical site infection was 12.9% (n=4) in arm A, 16.1% (n=5) in arm B and 19.4% (n=6) in arm C, respectively (P=0.788). No relationship was observed between the duration of prophylaxis and the rate of fever or the neutrophil counts during postoperative 7 days (P=0.119, P=0.855).
CONCLUSION
The prophylactic effect of antibiotics on recovery, with the antibiotics being received only on the day of the operation, is as effective as receiving antibiotics for a longer duration after gastric cancer surgery.

Keyword

Antibiotic prophylaxis; Surgical-site infection; Gastric cancer; Gastrectomy

MeSH Terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Antibiotic Prophylaxis
Arm
Emergencies
Fever
Gastrectomy
Humans
Neutrophils
Stomach Neoplasms
Anti-Bacterial Agents
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