Efficacy of an antibiotic mouthwash in contaminated head and neck surgery

Twelve head and neck cancer patients scheduled to undergo an operation contaminated by entrance into the upper aerodigestive tract were enrolled in a prospective, randomized, double-blinded study to evaluate the efficacy of a preoperative antibiotic mouthwash in reducing oral cavity quantitative bacterial counts and the incidence of postoperative wound infections. The group who received the antibiotic mouthwash had a large reduction in the bacterial counts, whereas the group who received the placebo mouthwash had an increase in the bacterial counts (p = 0.024). None of the patients who received the antibiotic mouthwash had postoperative complications; two of the five patients who received the placebo mouthwash had postoperative complications.