Peri-Operative Antibiotic Prophylaxis Does Not Reduce Surgical Site Infection in Breast Cancer

The reported rate of surgical site infection (SSI) in breast surgery is often higher than expected. Using antibiotic prophylaxis to reduce SSI is debatable because of the risk of developing bacteria resistance and the cost burden. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of antibiotic prophylaxis in breast surgery and the factors predisposing patients to SSI. A retrospective-prospective (ambispective) study was conducted in the Department of Breast Surgery, Qilu Hospital, P.R. China. The retrospective antibiotic-using group was composed of patients found to have breast cancer between January 2008 and October 2010. The prospective non-antibiotic-using group was composed of patients identified between November 2010 and November 2013. Pre-operative, peri-operative, and post-operative clinical data were analyzed. The SSI rate of the non-prophylaxis and prophylaxis groups was 1.1% (11/1,022) and 1.2% (12/1,034), respectively. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was related to SSI in the non-prophylaxis group (p = 0.026). Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant microorganism responsible for SSI, without obvious resistance to a widely used first-generation cephalosporin. Peri-operative antibiotic prophylaxis is of no significant value in preventing SSI in breast cancer surgery. Our results indicated that neoadjuvant chemotherapy might be a risk factor doe SSI, but further research is needed because of the sample size disparity between infected and uninfected groups.