The efficacy of prophylactic intravenous antibiotics in elective foot and ankle surgery

Postoperative infection rates in foot and ankle surgery: a clinical audit of Australian podiatric surgeons, January to December 2007

“…10 Considering, however, the variation in methodology for assessing postoperative infection rates in different studies, comparison is often difficult. 6,13 The differences in length of surveillance and sample sizes between this study and that of Bellotti's are an example of this. In Bellotti's report, patient data was collated over a 6-month period and the total number of procedures reported on was 119.…”

“…11 In practice, however, this may prove difficult, including patients living in rural areas requiring diagnosis and management of their wound by their local health care provider. Consequentially, patients of podiatric surgeons may 6,13 The use of prophylactic antibiotics in podiatric surgery is a contentious issue. According to a review by Zgonis, the results of studies are somewhat conflicting, with some supporting the effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotic use in preventing infections and others that do not.…”

“…According to a review by Zgonis, the results of studies are somewhat conflicting, with some supporting the effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotic use in preventing infections and others that do not. 13 Regardless, in undertaking surveillance it is imperative this data is collected for the purpose of rate adjustments for interhospital comparison. 6,13 In this study, information pertaining to co-morbidities and antibiotic therapy were not assessed.…”

“…10,11 Reports on infection rates from the United States suggest post-operative infection rates to vary from 0.5 to 6.5% following podiatric surgery. 12,13 An infection rate of 1.4% was established in 148 patients who underwent ambulatory podiatric surgery in an American day surgery facility. The authors concluded that this 12 month post-operative follow up study demonstrated a satisfactory result for clean elective foot surgery.…”

“…12 In another American study, the authors recommended that an infection rate between 0.5 and 6.5% can be anticipated as an acceptable risk. 13 In this retrospective study a total of 555 patient files were reviewed. All patients who underwent elective podiatric surgery were assessed for the presence or absence of infection.…”