Use of antibiotics in surgery

1. Big picture

Antibiotics in surgery are used for two different purposes:

1. Prophylaxis — to prevent surgical site infection before contamination becomes established.
2. Treatment — to treat an established infection such as abscess, peritonitis, cholangitis, infected necrosis, necrotizing fasciitis, empyema, or sepsis.

The most important oral-exam sentence:

Antibiotics help control bacterial spread, but they do not replace surgical source control. Pus, necrotic tissue, foreign bodies, perforation, and infected prosthetic material usually need drainage, debridement, removal, repair, or resection.

In the operating theatre, prophylactic antibiotics should be checked be