Combined carbenicillin and gentamicin for prophylaxis of post-operative infection following major abdominal surgery

Abstract

SummaryBacteriological studies with carbenicillin and gentamicin individually and with the combination of these antibiotics suggest their effect to be additive in action and often synergistic. Of sixty-five organisms tested in vitro, the majority Gram-negative, forty-seven were resistant to ampicillin, thirtyseven to carbenicillin, twenty-four to gentamicin and only six to carbenicillin plus gentamicin.Out of sixty-seven patients undergoing major abdominal surgery, thirty were randomly allocated to receive carbenicillin plus gentamicin postoperatively and of these one developed an infection.The other thirty-seven patients received either ampicillin or no antibiotic and nine developed infections.The combined antibiotic regime seems suitable for prophylaxis for patients undergoing major abdominal surgery with a high risk of infection. IntroductionThe incidence of post-operative infection following abdominal surgery constitutes a serious hazard. In one large series infection, in all sites, occurred in over 30°/o of patients undergoing large bowel and

Topical ampicillin in the prevention of wound infection after appendicectomy

“…Although systemic antibiotics may be effective in reducing wound infection after appendicectomy (Bernard and Cole, 1964;Bloom, 1969;Polk and Lopez-Major, 1969), it would seem that only large doses of potent antibiotics, often in combination and given at or shortly before operation, have such an effect. Margery et al (1971), in a trial of systemic ampicillin or tetracycline, found no reduction in wound infections compared with the controls, although the duration of postoperative fever and the incidence of intraperitoneal complications were reduced.…”