The outcome measures of the studies were : Wound infection , intra abdominal abscess , length of stay in hospital , and mortality .
The overall result is that the use of antibiotics is superior to placebo for preventing wound infection and intraabdominal abscess , with no apparent difference in the nature of the removed appendix .
Studies exclusively on children and studies examining topical application reported results in favour to the above , although the results were not significant .
Antibiotic prophylaxis is effective in the prevention of postoperative complications in appendectomised patients , whether the administration is given pre- , peri- or post-operatively , and could be considered for routine in emergency appendectomies
BACKGROUND Appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdominal pain requiring surgical intervention .
The cause of appendicitis is unclear and the mechanism of pathogenesis continues to be debated .
Despite improved asepsis and surgical techniques , postoperative complications , such as wound infection and intraabdominal abscess , still account for a significant morbidity .
Several studies implicate that postoperative infections are reduced by administration of antimicrobial regimes .
OBJECTIVES This review evaluated the use of antibiotics compared to placebo or no treatment in patients undergoing appendectomy .
Will these patients benefit from antimicrobial prophylaxis ?
Prophylaxis of wound infection.
When given in conventional daily dosage , rifampicin is highly effective but very expensive , costing well over £ 200 a year for one patient . This makes the use of daily rifampicin regimens unrealistic in nearly all the developing countries and indeed in many technically advanced countries too . If an intermittent regimen containing a smaller total weekly dosage of rifampicin which is both therapeutically effective and of low toxicity could be found the applicability of this very valuable drug would be much increased . It would indeed be a great pity if the report of Dr. Poole and others were to be interpreted as discouraging further investigation along these lines . In the final analysis the aim must be to evaluate rifampicin-containing regimens in terms of efficacy , safety , convenience , cost and applicability , in comparison with the alternative regimens available for the treatment of the same type of disease , in the same population .-We are , etc .
The outcome measures of the studies were : Wound infection , intra abdominal abscess , length of stay in hospital , and mortality .
The overall result is that the use of antibiotics is superior to placebo for preventing wound infection and intraabdominal abscess , with no apparent difference in the nature of the removed appendix .
Studies exclusively on children and studies examining topical application reported results in favour to the above , although the results were not significant .
Antibiotic prophylaxis is effective in the prevention of postoperative complications in appendectomised patients , whether the administration is given pre- , peri- or post-operatively , and could be considered for routine in emergency appendectomies
BACKGROUND Appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdominal pain requiring surgical intervention .
The cause of appendicitis is unclear and the mechanism of pathogenesis continues to be debated .
Despite improved asepsis and surgical techniques , postoperative complications , such as wound infection and intraabdominal abscess , still account for a significant morbidity .
Several studies implicate that postoperative infections are reduced by administration of antimicrobial regimes .
OBJECTIVES This review evaluated the use of antibiotics compared to placebo or no treatment in patients undergoing appendectomy .
Will these patients benefit from antimicrobial prophylaxis ?