POSTOPERATIVE INFECTION FOLLOWING HAND SURGERY - GUIDELINES FOR ANTIBIOTIC USE

An audit was designed to analyse the risk factors for developing post- operative wound infection following hand surgery. 249 consecutive pati ents were prospectively entered into the study. 236 (95%) patients wer e available for follow-up. Infection was diagnosed by clinical criteri a. There was an infection rate of 10.7% in elective operations and 9.7 % in emergency operations. There was no significant reduction in infec tion rate in the elective group with the use of antibiotics (P=0.5). I n the emergency group of patients peri-operative antibiotic administra tion was associated with an 8.5-fold reduction in infection rate (P=0. 014). The presence of a dirty wound was associated with a 13.4-fold in crease in post-operative wound infection rate (P=0.002). A postal ques tionnaire of members of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand re vealed a wide variation in antibiotic usage. Guidelines for antibiotic use in patients undergoing hand surgery are presented.