The Efficacy of Short-Term vs. Long-Term Antibiotic Therapy in Preventing Deep Infection After Orthopedic Procedures (A Prospective Observational Study)

: Background: Antibiotic therapy prevents postoperative infections after orthopedic procedures, but the method and prescribed dose of this therapy are debated. Short-term prophylaxis and long-term prophylaxis are 2 accepted methods after orthopedic procedures.Objectives: In this prospective observational study, we compared the results of short-term and long-term prophylaxis after elective orthopedic procedures at 2 hospitals of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.Patients and Methods: We divided patients who underwent uneventful orthopedic operations into 2 groups, administered short- and long-term prophylactic antibiotic therapy, respectively, and observed the patients for signs and symptoms of superficial and deep infections. We compared and analyzed the results with SPSS, considering P values of less than 0.001 to indicate a significant difference.Results: There was no significant difference regarding superficial and deep infections between short- and long-term prophylaxis groups; thus, both methods can be used for prophylaxis after elective orthopedic surgeries, effecting equal rates of success.Conclusions: Short-term prophylaxis can be used for clean orthopedic procedures with equivalent results as long-term therapy. Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education:In using short-term antibiotic prophylaxis in clean orthopedic procedures we can avoid side effects and also it is more cost-effective. Please cite this paper as:Khorrami M; Tabatabaei S, Ahmadarabi M. The Efficacy of Short-Term vs. Long-Term Antibiotic Therapy in Preventing Deep Infection After Orthopedic Procedures (A Prospective Observational Study). Jundishapur J Microbiol.2012;5(2):427-9. DOI: 10.5812/jjm.3521 Copyright © 2012 Kowsar Corp. All rights reserved.