Controlled trial of prophylactic antibiotics in minor wounds requiring suture

Minor wounds presenting in the accident department requiring suture were randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups: an intramuscular injection of 1-25 megaunits of penicillin as a long-acting depot preparation, local wound irrigation with 100mg of tetracycline in solution, or no antibiotics. All wounds had a standard surgical toilet and were closed under aseptic conditions. Wound infections were noted five to seven days after suture, and in the two groups receiving antibiotics 23% of the wounds were infected whilst in the control group the frequency was 7%. The wisdom of using routine antibiotic prophylaxis in minor wounds is questioned.