Antibiotic prophylaxis in pulmonary surgery. A prospective randomized double-blind trial of flash cefuroxime versus forty-eight-hour cefuroxime.

The aim of this study was to determine whether a 48-hour antibiotic prophylaxis regimen with a second-generation cephalosporin was more efficient than a flash antibiotic prophylaxis regimen in pulmonary operations. All the included patients underwent lung resection. Patients with preoperative infection were excluded. All the patients were given cefuroxime (1.5 gm intravenously) at the time of the anesthetic induction and again 2 hours later. The randomization was done postoperatively: group 1 was given placebo intravenously (n = 102) and group 2 was given cefuroxime intravenously (n = 101), each every 6 hours for 48 hours. The overall rate of infections was 46% in the 48-hour cefuroxime group versus 65% in the flash group (p = 0.005). The difference remained significant even after an adjustment with prognosis variables (p = 0.01). Six empyemas (6%) in the flash group were noted versus one (1%) in the 48-hour group (p = 0.03). From day 3 to day 8 after the operation, chest x-rays films were more often assessed as being normal in the flash group than in the 48-hour group (p = 0.005). On day 3 after operation, white blood cell counts were 13,020 +/- 1,220 elements/mm3 in the flash group versus 11,620 +/- 1,220 elements/mm3 in the 48-hour group (p = 0.03). A 48-hour antibiotic prophylaxis regimen decreases the rate of deep infections and particularly the rate of empyemas.