A review of the practice of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis

Abstract

Background: Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis (SAP) is defined as the use of antibiotics to prevent infections at a surgical site. The appropriate use of SAP is an effective and efficient modality of preventing surgical site infections.

Main body: The practice of SAP is however fraught with several challenges e.g., diverse opinions among surgeons regarding the duration of surgical prophylaxis, a dearth of institutional guidelines, and poor compliance with existing guidelines. Unfortunately, the inappropriate use of SAP results in adverse clinical (e.g., increased length of hospitalization, occurrence of surgical site infections, morbidity, etc.) and economic consequences (e.g., increased healthcare costs) in surgical patients.

Conclusion: This review article discusses the practice of SAP and the challenges regarding SAP. Finally, some recommendations to overcome the challenges are discussed.