A questionnaire survey on the theory of postoperative infection prophylaxis in otorhinolaryngology

: A questionnaire survey on postoperative infection prophylaxis was conducted to achieve the consensus on the perioperative antimicrobial use among otolaryngologists in Japan during the period of time from April to July 2000. Fifty-two out of 84 otolaryngologists replied, and the following consensus was obtained. An antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP) agent should be chosen based on their efficacy against the pathogens expected to be contaminants, such as Staphylococcus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacteroides fragilis group; Use an AMP agent that achieves a bactericidal concentrations in both the serum and operating site. Use an AMP agent that has little unfavourable side effects. Newer agents should be considered as therapeutics for postoperative infections. Therapeutic antimicrobial agents having no cross-resistance to the AMP agents should be used, if postoperative infection is suspected or developed. The most commonly used agent for clean operations is cefazolin (CEZ), followed by cefotiam (CTM) and piperacillin (PIPC), in this order. For clean-contaminated operations, the most commonly used agent is CEZ, followed by flomoxef (FMOX) and CTM.