title: Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Instrumented Spinal Fusion Surgery: A Comparative Analysis of 24-Hour and 72-Hour Dosages.
abstract: METHODS
  Prospective study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the efficacy of 24-hour and 72-hour antibiotic prophylaxis in preventing surgical site infections (SSIs).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgical practice has become a universally accepted protocol for minimizing postoperative complications related to infections. Although prophylaxis is an accepted practice, a debate exists with regard to the antibiotic type and its administration duration for various surgical procedures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our institute is a tertiary care hospital with more than 100 spinal surgeries per year for various spine disorders in the department of orthopedics. We conducted this prospective study in our department from June 2012 to January 2015. A total of 326 patients were enrolled in this study, with 156 patients in the 72-hour antibiotic prophylaxis group (group A) and 170 patients in the 24-hour group (group B). Cefazolin was the antibiotic used in both groups. Two surgeons were involved in conducting all the spinal procedures. Our study compared SSIs among patients undergoing instrumented spinal fusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall rate of SSIs was 1.8% with no statistical difference between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 24-hour antimicrobial prophylaxis is as effective as the 72-hour dosage in instrumented spinal fusion surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, India.
authors.forename: Chandrasekaran
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marimuthu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, India.
authors.forename: Vineet Thomas
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, India.
authors.forename: Mirunalini
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ravichandran
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, India.
authors.forename: Rajamani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Achimuthu
keywords: Fusion spinal; Infection surgical site; Prophylaxis antibiotic