Antibiotic prophylaxis for abdominal hysterectomy.

Ninety-one patients were enrolled in a prospective randomized double-blind study evaluating the efficacy of systemic antibiotic prophylaxis in reducing the incidence of operative site infection after abdominal hysterectomy. Forty-five patients received a 2-dose course of cefoxitin; 46 patients received a placebo. Although patients in the antibiotic group had a lower fever index, there were no statistically significant differences between groups with respect to incidence of pelvic cellulitis, urinary tract infection, wound infection, need for therapeutic antibiotics, or duration of hospitalization. It is concluded that, in this patient population, the theoretic risks of widespread use of systemic antibiotics for prophylaxis outweigh the observed benefits.