Administration of antibiotic prophylaxis more than 120 minutes before incision or after incision is associated a higher risk of surgical site infections than administration less than 120 minutes before incision .
Abstract The aim of the study was to assess the effect of timing of preoperative surgical antibiotic prophylaxis ( SAP ) on  surgical site infection ( SSI )  and compare the different timing intervals .
The benefit of routine use of SAP prior to surgery has long been recognized .
However , the optimal timing has not been defined .
Re-emphasis of priorities in surgical antibiotic prophylaxis.
The results of two prospect i ve , r and omized trials , comparing single dose piperacillin with multidose cefoxitin prophylaxis in elective surgical procedures of the gastrointestinal tract were combined to examine some basic aspects of clinical ly , applied antibiotic prophylaxis . As there was no difference in the efficacy of prophylaxis between the groups , data from both centers and both drug groups were combined for analysis . Patients whose ages were greater than 40 years , the presence of cancer and the administration of an antibiotic for longer than 60 minutes preoperatively were associated with a higher rate of infectious complications . Duration of operation was also related to subsequent infection , ranging from 6 per cent in procedures lasting less than two hours to 27 per cent in operations lasting more than four hours . There was a greater failure of prophylaxis in patients undergoing rectal procedures , with a 29 per cent rate of infectious complications compared with 14 per cent in patients undergoing operations upon the colon . This difference was present even when duration of operation was taken into account
Administration of antibiotic prophylaxis more than 120 minutes before incision or after incision is associated a higher risk of surgical site infections than administration less than 120 minutes before incision .
Abstract The aim of the study was to assess the effect of timing of preoperative surgical antibiotic prophylaxis ( SAP ) on  surgical site infection ( SSI )  and compare the different timing intervals .
The benefit of routine use of SAP prior to surgery has long been recognized .
However , the optimal timing has not been defined .