title: Antimicrobial use in the surgical patient.
abstract: Antimicrobials are often used in the surgical patient in an effort to prevent infection (prophylactic) or to treat established infection (therapeutic). To be effective, prophylactic antimicrobials at appropriate concentrations must be present in tissues at the surgical site at the time of contamination to prevent bacterial growth and subsequent infection. Therapeutic antimicrobials are used to treat established localized or systemic infection. Selection of antimicrobial agents for prophylactic or therapeutic use should be based on knowledge of expected flora, ability of the antimicrobial to reach the target tissue at appropriate concentrations, bacterial resistance patterns, drug pharmacokinetics, and culture and susceptibility testing results (therapeutic use). Failure of antimicrobial therapy to prevent or treat infection in the surgical patient may result from poor antimicrobial selection, inappropriate dosage or frequency, or inappropriate duration of therapy.
authors.affiliation: Surgical Sciences Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4474, USA. lhowe@cvm.tamu.edu
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Howe
authors.forename: Harry W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Boothe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis / Q000662:veterinary; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000662:veterinary; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local