Short term antibiotic prophylaxis for emergency cesarean delivery : Is there a difference?

Abstract

Objective : To evaluate the efficacy of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid when given as a two dose versus the more traditional triple dose regimen for cesarean section prophylaxis. Methods : We conducted a prospective study of 122 women undergoing emergency cesarean section. All patients received 2.4 g of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid at the time of cord clamping intravenously. Subsequent doses of 1.2 g were administered 6 hours apart after the initial dose. Results : Patient characteristics and risk factors for infection were comparable for the two groups. Analysis of results demonstrated no significant differences in infective morbidity (6.5% versus 8.1%) between the two and triple dose groups respectively. Conclusion : The results of the present study suggest that two doses of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid is equally effective as triple dose therapy in reducing post cesarean section endometritis. This implies that two dose regimen would decrease the cost to the patient while maintaining very acceptable infection rates.