The effect of a short-term course of antibiotic prophylaxis on patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy

A prospective double-blind study of antibiotic prophylaxis in 69 patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy was conducted. A short, 1-day course of cefazolin prophylaxis effectively decreased febrile morbidity, serious postoperative infections and hospital stay. Resistant infections or delayed infections were not encountered in this series of prophylactically treated patients. There was no difference between the active drug group and the placebo group in the frequency with which aerobic Gram-negative rods and the incidence of cephalosporin-resistant organisms cultured postoperatively.