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 ?
The prevention of postappendicectomy sepsis by metronidazole and cotrimoxazole: a controlled double blind trial.
A double-blind , r and omized controlled trial was carried out in University Hospital , Kuala Lumpur to study the effect of metronidazole and cotrimoxazole on the incidence of wound infection following appendicectomy from November 1978 to January 1980 . Patients were allocated at r and om into one of four groups : cotrimoxazole injection and placebo suppository , metronidazole suppository and cotrimoxazole injection , metronidazole suppository and placebo injection or placebo suppository and placebo injection . Treatment was started 30 min before operation and continued for 72h . All patients were followed up for 2 weeks and thereafter for one month . A total of 283 patients was finally accepted into the study .  Sepsis rates were found to be 27 % for the untreated group , 9 % for the group receiving metronidazole only , 8 % for the group receiving cotrimoxazole injection only and 2.7 % for the group receiving both drugs . The study showed that a combination of metronidazole and cotrimoxazole is a regime highly effective for prophylaxis against wound infection following appendicectomy
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 ?