[Postoperative infectious risk in traumatic bone surgery and protocol for antibiotic therapy].

Eleven hundred and sixty eight traumatic cases have been operated on under constant conditions in a conventional operating room with filtered air and positive pressure using absolute filters of 99.999 efficiency. Two hundred and five were submitted to post-operative prophylactic administration of Cephalosporin (Cefazolin) for 2 days. The overall results showed 0.6 p. 100 of infection but 4 cases of severe sepsis were seen in the group of patients who had received prophylactic antibiotics. The authors have compared these results with those obtained during the previous period when the operating room was less modern. They conclude that this factor is of paramount importance. On the other hand, they have observed 2.1 p. 100 of contaminated drains without subsequent infection. They are concerned at the increase of gram-negative organisms resistant to Cefazolin (60 p. 100) and of Staphylococci resistant to Methicillin (30 p. 100). They conclude that the peroperative flash technique of the administration of Penicillin M is worthwhile.