The effects of prophylactic antibiotics on the incidence of surgical site infections among women after breast cancer surgery.

Abstract

Inappropriate antibiotic use may lead to antibiotic resistance, and generating a strong evidence based approach is an important component of antimicrobial stewardship. Surgical site infection (SSI) is a form of post-operative complication that contributes significantly to mortality in healthcare today and also has an enormous impact on patient's quality of life. The value of antibiotic prophylaxis in the reduction of post-operative infection rate is well established in clean contaminated procedures and is considered optional for most clean procedures. Although breast cancer surgery is considered clean, there are surprisingly rates of postoperative infections after breast surgery. To date, there is no consensus on prophylactic antibiotic use in breast cancer surgery, and different practices exist among surgeons. This systematic review was undertaken to evaluate the current evidence for prophylactic antibiotics for patients undergoing breast surgery and its impact on post-operative surgical site infections.