Prophylactic antibiotic treatment in obstetrics: comparison of regimens - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

Purpose: to evaluate the efficacy of four antibiotic regimens in puerperal infection prophylaxis. Patients and Methods: According to vaginal or abdominal delivery and risk the presence or not of factors for puerperal infection, the patients were allocated to groups of low, medium and high risk for its development. Between March 1994 and June 1997 2,263 patients were evaluated. Results: the incidence of puerperal infection was different in each group. It was 3.1% in the low risk group, where no antibiotic was given, and 8.5% in the high risk group where all patients received three doses of 1 g EV cefalotin at six-hour intervals. In the medium risk group, the incidence of puerperal infection was 5.3% for the patients who used three doses of 1 g EV cefoxitin; 5.1% for those who used three doses of 1 g EV cefalotin; 4.0% when a single cefoxitin dose was used and 3.4% when a single cefalotin dose was used. Conclusions: it is not necessary to use prophylactic antibiotic therapy in low risk patients and the first generation cephalosporins (cefalotin) are as efficacious as the second generation cephalosporins (cefoxitin) to prevent puerperal infection, independent of the applied dosage. Cefalotin seems to be effective in preventing puerperal infection in patients at high risk.