Antibiotics to reduce post-tonsillectomy morbidity

Safety of Adult Tonsillectomy

“…Prior meta-analyses and systematic review have demonstrated that there is no evidence in favor of routine administration of perioperative antibiotics in the prevention of posttonsillectomy morbidity. 24 Our data indicate that adult tonsillectomy in the United States is a safe procedure; however, additional research into the prevention of postoperative infection in high-risk patients may be useful in continuing to reduce reoperation rates.…”

Clinical practice guidelines for antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery

“…[6][7][8]497,520,521 However, antimicrobial prophylaxis did not lower infection risk in randomized controlled trials of patients undergoing adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy, 522,523 and septoplasty, 524 and systematic reviews have not recommended prophylaxis for these procedures. 7,525,526 The efficacy of antimicrobial prophylaxis is best established for head and neck cancer surgery. Several small randomized, controlled trials found high infection rates in placebo groups (24-78%) and markedly lower infection rates in the prophylaxis groups (5.8-38%) using a variety of regimens, including cefazolin, third-generation cephalosporins, and ampicillin plus cloxacillin.…”

Clinical Practice Guidelines for Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Surgery

“…Based on the best available evidence, current guidelines and review articles recommend the use of antimicrobial prophylaxis for the majority of clean-contaminated procedures [6][7][8]497,520,521]. However, antimicrobial prophylaxis did not lower infection risk in randomized controlled trials of patients undergoing adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy [522,523], and septoplasty [524], and systematic reviews have not recommended prophylaxis for these procedures [7,525,526].…”