PERIOPERATIVE PROPHYLACTIC CEPHAZOLIN IN SPINAL SURGERY - A DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL

We investigated the efficacy of a single dose of Ig of cephazolin in r educing postoperative infections in patients undergoing 'clean' operat ions on the lumbar spine. In a double-blind, randomised, trial there w ere 21 wound or urinary infections in the 71 patients who received pla cebo and nine in the 70 who received cephazolin (p < 0.05). Nine of th e placebo patients (12.7%) developed wound infections (complicated by bacteraemia in two) compared with three (4.3%) in the cephazolin group (P = 0.07). Hospital stay was longer for infected patients than for n on-infected patients (p < 0.05). Cephazolin-resistant pathogens were i solated more frequently from patients who received cephazolin than fro m those who received placebo.