Controlled trial of prophylactic antibiotics in minor wounds requiring suture.
Minor wounds presenting in the accident department requiring suture were randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups: an intramuscular injection of 1-25 megaunits of penicillin as a long-acting depot preparation, local wound irrigation with 100mg of tetracycline in solution, or no antibiotics. All wounds had a standard surgical toilet and were closed under aseptic conditions. Wound infections were noted five to seven days after suture, and in the two groups receiving antibiotics 23% of the wounds were infected whilst in the control group the frequency was 7%. The wisdom of using routine antibiotic prophylaxis in minor wounds is questioned.
D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D008297:Male; D013511:Minor Surgical Procedures; D010406:Penicillins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013537:Sutures; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation
D010406:Penicillins; D013752:Tetracycline