New research published in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology reveals the preoperative antibiotics providers choose can impact the risk of surgical site infections in women who have a hysterectomy.
The study was conducted from July 2012 to February 2015 and included data from more than 21,000 hysterectomies. The overall rate of any SSI was 2.06 percent.
Unadjusted rates for all SSIs were 1.8 percent for beta lactam antibiotics, 3.1 percent for beta lactam alternatives and 3.7 percent for nonstandard antibiotics. That means there is a higher risk of SSIs after hysterectomy among patients who receive a beta lactam alternative or nonstandard regimen than those who received beta lactam antibiotic regimens.
"Efforts to decrease SSIs could focus on adherence to recommended preoperative antibiotic guidelines and thorough evaluation of patient-reported penicillin allergies to increase the number of patients receiving beta lactam antibiotics," concluded the study authors.
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