Prophylactic vancomycin versus placebo in arterial prosthetic reconstructions.

Vascular reconstructive surgery with the placement of prosthetic material caudal to the diaphragm is occasionally associated with postoperative wound infection. These infections often lead to amputation and can be lethal. Only a few published reports contain information on the value of prophylactic antibiotic treatment with these operations, but its use is common throughout the world. To investigate this problem, a prospective, double blind, randomized study of vancomycin versus placebo in 128 vascular graft operations caudal to the diaphragm was conducted from June, 1982 to July, 1984. The difference in infection rate was significant (2 p = 0.0008) in favor of the vancomycin group. Fourteen wound infections (21.2%) were found in the placebo group, 3 of which (4.5%) were prosthesis infections. Among the 62 vancomycin-treated patients, one case of superficial wound infection (1.6%) and no cases of prosthesis infection were found. The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus. The study has demonstrated that vancomycin, a narrow spectrum antibiotic, in an ultra-short regimen (one gram one hour before surgery and one gram 4 hours later) is an effective prophylactic agent against postoperative wound infection. Temporary and, in most cases, doses-related side effects were seen in 7.9% of the patients treated with vancomycin.