Antibiotic prophylaxis in regional anesthesia linked to fewer infections

Editor's Note

Single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis was associated with fewer peripheral and epidural catheter infections, this study finds.

The study included 11,307 regional anesthesia patients with single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis and 11,307 controls who did not receive antibiotics.

For peripheral catheters, the incidence of infections without antibiotics was 2.4%, compared with 1.1% with antibiotics.

Epidural catheter infections also were more common without antibiotics−5.2% vs 3.1%.

Whether the antibiotic was given before or after catheter insertion made no difference.

A Retrospective Registry Analysis