Skipping Antibiotic Guidelines Ups Trauma Surgical Infections

Preliminary data on skin management in damage-control patients is being analyzed, but "we suspect, as you do at your institution, that it is probably the management of the skin in the setting of the fascial closure that may contribute to surgical site infections and are looking at a future study," he said.

Finally, when asked how the results have changed practice at Temple University, Dr. Smith said they’d like to believe they are using only 24 hours’ worth of antibiotics in the setting of prophylaxis but lack the evidence to confirm this. He pointed out that although more than a decade has passed since the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma published its own antibiotic guidelines, more than 50% of surgeons in the study were not in compliance.

"Certainly, there is always room for improvement in how we treat our patients," he added.

Dr. Smith and Dr. Santaniello reported no conflicts of interest. Conflict of interest information for Dr. Reilly was not available.

*Correction, 2/22/2012: An earlier version of this article misidentified the lead author of the study.