Prophylactic single-dose administration of 600 mg clindamycin versus 4-time administration of 600 mg clindamycin in orthognathic surgery: A prospective randomized study in bilateral mandibular sagittal ramus osteotomies.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare a single 600-mg dose of preoperative intravenously administered clindamycin with a 24-hour 600-mg regimen of clindamycin as prophylaxis for postoperative infections in bilateral sagittal ramus osteotomies.

Study Design: Seventy patients were assigned at random to an antibiotic protocol. Postoperative infection was assessed by one clinician blinded to the protocol. All data were tabulated, and a statistical analysis was performed by means of the paired t test.

Results: In 3 patients, an infection developed. Two of those patients belonged to the single-dose clindamycin group and the other to the 24-hour clindamycin prophylaxis group. The sutures were removed, and wound exudate specimens were obtained for Gram staining and culture. After a 5-day period of 500 mg amoxicillin 4 times daily, the parameters of infection normalized.

Conclusions: There were no statistically significant differences between postoperative infection after the single dose of clindamycin and infection in the 24-hour prophylaxis group (P =.3244).