[The prehospital use of antibiotics in military operations]

War wounds usually show abundant devitalized tissue and often contain foreign material (environmental matter, shrapnels, and bullets). Thus, they are particularly prone to infection. Moreover, evacuation to a medical treatment facility and surgical debridement are often delayed due to tactical constraints. Thus, the early administration of an antibiotic on the ground in a prehospital setting seems justified to slow bacterial growth and the development of early infection. However, antibiotics are never a substitute for surgical treatment. The mix of microorganisms expected in war wounds is highly variable and determines the choice of the antibacterial agent. In a prehospital setting and in the absence of medical or paramedical personnel, the antibiotic must be administered orally (combat pill pack). In view of the antibacterial activity as well as pharmacokinetic and pharmaceutical properties, a combination of a fluoroquinolone active against Pseudomonas and a lincomycine with a high oral bioavailability at high doses seems to be a rational choice (ciprofloxacine 750 mg or alternatively levofloxacine 500 mg+clindamycine 600 mg tablets). If oral administration is excluded (unconsciousness, penetrating abdominal trauma, shock), the parenteral administration will be delayed until the patient has been taken in charge by medical or paramedical personnel. In that case, the intravenous administration of an association of an ureidopenicilline with antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas and a ß-lactamase-inhibitor at high doses could be a rational choice (piperacilline 4 g+tazobactam 0.5 g) (Tazocilline®). An antibiotic treatment beyond the time of surgery may become necessary in individual patients depending on the local features of the wound and should be prescribed by the medical officer in charge of the patient on a case-by-case basis.