Comparative study of ceftriaxone versus cefazolin plus clindamycin as antibiotic prophylaxis in elective colorectal surgery

Abstract

A comparative study of 103 consecutive patients who required antibiotic prophylaxis for elective colorectal surgery was carried out. All eligible patients received either ceftriaxone (2 g) as a single intravenous dose at anesthetic induction or cefazolin (1 g) plus clindamycin (0.6g) administered intravenously at anesthetic induction and for two more doses at 8-hourly intervals for a total of 3 days. The incidence of postoperative wound infections was 6.9% in the ceftriaxone group and 11.1% in the cefazolin plus clindamycin group. Single-dose ceftriaxone proved to be a safe and cost-effective form of antibiotic prophylaxis for elective colorectal surgery.