[Association between the pattern of prophylactic antibiotic use and surgical site infection rate for major surgeries in Korea].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between the pattern of prophylactic antibiotic use (PAU) and the surgical site infection (SSI) rate for major surgeries in Korea.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent cardiac, colon and gastric surgery, hysterectomies and hip/knee replacements at 20 hospitals, and inclusive of over 500 beds. We randomly sampled 60 cases per surgery type for patients discharged between September and November, 2006.