Combined topical and systemic antibiotic prophylaxis in acute appendicitis

Two hundred forty-six patients with acute appendicitis were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group of 120 patients received systemic clindamycin preoperatively. Another group of 126 patients received, in addition to systemic clindamycin, a solution of topical ampicillin applied to subcutaneous tissues. No differences were found in the characteristics of the two groups. Combined prophylaxis with clindamycin and ampicillin significantly reduced wound infection to 4%, compared with clindamycin alone (p less than 0.02). A decrease in the surgical wound infection rate in the group treated with clindamycin and ampicillin was mainly observed in patients with advanced (gangrenous and perforated) appendicitis (p less than 0.05). A significant decrease in wound infection rates in patients with positive culture results was also found. We conclude that prophylaxis with a combination of systemic clindamycin and topical ampicillin solution, when compared with clindamycin alone, more effectively prevents wound infection after emergency appendectomy, especially in patients with serious wound contamination.