Effect of intrauterine antibiotic lavage after cesarean birth on postoperative morbidity

Abstract

Intrauterine lavage using broad-spectrum antibiotics after cesarean section has been reported to reduce maternal morbidity, but many such patients are not at high risk for postoperative infection. This study tested intrauterine antibiotic lavage in patients at risk for infectious morbidity. The patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups based on the last digit of the hospital admission number. Group I received no lavage, group II received lavage with 800 ml of saline plus 2 gm of cefamandole nafate in the intrauterine incision, bladder flap and peritoneal cavity, and group III received a similar lavage using 800 ml of saline alone. There was a significant decrease in maternal hyperpyrexia (simple morbidity) as well as serious infection in both lavage groups as compared to the control group (p less than 0.01 and 0.05, respectively). Also, there was significantly reduced morbidity when the antibiotic lavage was compared to the saline technique (p less than 0.001). The use of intrauterine lavage with saline, with or without antibiotics, appears helpful in reducing postoperative morbidity in patients at high risk for infectious morbidity after cesarean section.