Prophylactic antibiotics for mesh inguinal hernioplasty: a meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Surgical Innovation
• Infectious Disease Prevention
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• The use of antibiotic prophylaxis in mesh inguinal hernioplasty remains a subject of debate.
• Existing evidence is inconclusive due to a limited number of small-scale clinical trials.
• Meta-analysis offers a robust approach to address methodological limitations in prior research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis in reducing surgical site infection (SSI) rates.
• To analyze the impact of antibiotic prophylaxis on adult patients undergoing mesh inguinal hernioplasty.

Main Methods:

• A meta-analysis was conducted on six randomized clinical trials.
• The study focused on adult patients undergoing mesh inguinal hernioplasty.
• Cochrane Collaboration criteria were employed for quality assessment.

Main Results:

• Analysis included 2507 patients, with SSI rates of 1.38% in the antibiotic group versus 2.89% in the control group.
• Antibiotic prophylaxis demonstrated a significant reduction in SSI risk (odds ratio = 0.48; 95% CI, 0.27-0.85).
• No statistical heterogeneity was observed, and sensitivity analysis by quality confirmed the overall findings.

Conclusions:

• Antibiotic prophylaxis is effective in decreasing surgical site infection rates following mesh inguinal hernioplasty.
• The findings suggest a nearly 50% reduction in SSIs with antibiotic prophylaxis.
• This evidence supports the routine use of antibiotic prophylaxis in this surgical context.