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Evidence summaries

Prophylactic Antibiotics to Prevent Surgical Site Infection after Breast Cancer Surgery

Prophylactic antibiotics compared to placebo appear to reduce the risk of surgical site infection in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery without reconstruction. Level of evidence: "B"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 11 trials with a total of 2 867 participants. Prophylactic antibiotics pre-operatively compared to placebo or no antibiotic reduce the incidence of surgical site infection for patients undergoing breast cancer surgery without reconstruction (pooled RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.85; 10 trials, n=2 823). No studies presented separate data for patients who underwent reconstructive surgery at the time of removal of the breast tumour.

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality (inadequate intention-to-treat adherence).

References

  • Gallagher M, Jones DJ, Bell-Syer SV. Prophylactic antibiotics to prevent surgical site infection after breast cancer surgery. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019;(9):CD005360 [Review content assessed as up-to-date: 26 September 2019]. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords