Antibiotic prophylaxis in low-risk cesarean section

This prospective study was undertaken in an effort to evaluate the role of systemic antibiotic prophylaxis in elective abdominal delivery. Eighty-two patients undergoing elective cesarean section who were not in labor and who did not have ruptured membranes were assigned on a randomized, double-blind basis to receive a three-dose perioperative course of either placebo or ampicillin. Postoperatively, patients were evaluated for the development of infection-related complications. Patients in the antibiotic group experienced less febrile morbidity, had lower fever indices and developed fewer operative-site infections than did patients in the control group. No patient in either group, however, developed a potentially life-threatening infection, and all infected patients responded promptly to parenteral antibiotic therapy. Because of the limited morbidity associated with elective cesarean section in this patient population, it is concluded that the theoretical risks of antibiotic prophylaxis outweigh the expected benefits.