title: Preventing infection of the incision after appendectomy by using metronidazole preoperatively to infiltrate tissues at the incision.
abstract: METHODS
  From January 1991 to July 1995, 260 patients with acute appendicitis were operated on. After excluding 21 patients, the remaining 239 cases were randomly divided into two groups. Group A was given the treatment and group B was the control group. Precisely 0.915 g metronidazole disodium phosphate injection (Tongzhen Pharmaceutical Co., Shan Xi Province, P. R. China) or 25% metronidazole glucose solution was added to 100 mL 0.9% normal saline. After anesthetizing the patients in group A, 60 to 80 mL of the solution was injected into the subcutaneous tissue and muscle. The control group B was given intravenous injection of metronidazole disodium phosphate and cephazolin postoperatively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the 119 cases in group A, the rate of incision infection was 0.8%. By contrast, the rate of infection among the 120 cases in group B was 11.6%. The statistical analysis (chi square) was significant, with P < 0.001 showing that preincisional or intraincisional infiltration with metronidazole was effective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Baotou 291 Hospital, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, P.R. China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shubing
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Litian
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis; D001062:Appendectomy; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000601:surgery*; D002437:Cefazolin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D008297:Male; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011182:Postoperative Care; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D002511:Cephalosporins; D008795:Metronidazole; D002437:Cefazolin