Evaluation of postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis after liver resection: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Antibiotic prophylaxis is frequently administered after liver resection to prevent postoperative infections. However, very few studies have examined the usefulness of antibiotic prophylaxis after liver resection. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis in patients after liver resection.

Methods: A total of 241 patients scheduled to undergo liver resection were randomly assigned to the non-postoperative antibiotic group (n = 95) or the antibiotic group (n = 95). The antibiotic group was given flomoxef sodium every 12 hours for 3 days after the operation. The end point was signs of infection, surgical site infection, or infectious complications.

Results: There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in signs of infection (21.3% vs 25.5%, P = .606), the incidence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (11.7% vs 17.0%, P = .406), infectious complications (7.5% vs 17.0%, P = .073), surgical site infection (10.6% vs 13.8%, P = .657), and remote site infection (2.1% vs 8.5%, P = .100).

Conclusions: Postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis cannot prevent postoperative infections after liver resection, and it is thought that antibiotic prophylaxis is unnecessary and costly.