Prophylactic antibiotic: Is it effective in preventing post-surgical infection?

Post-surgical infection is a common healthcare problem that may lead to hospitalization for a prolonged period. Early recognition of signs and symptoms is a prerequisite for reducing the instances of surgical site infections. Before bothering to know which post-surgical measures can help prevent infection, the pre and perioperative periods are equally important. Surgical site infection prevention starts at the pre-operative stage. Studies on post-surgical infection indicate that antibiotics can help prevent infections (Gyssens, 1999). Patients that record surgical wound infections may have to consume more antibiotics spend more on health care; suffer from pain, and in some cases, they die (Asif, Mirza & Saeed, 2017). Population All groups of people, notwithstanding their age, are at an increased level of infection if they undergo surgery. Surgery exposes the internal parts of the body to the external environment, one which they are not well equipped to handle. Due to the increased risk of contracting infections, surgeries need to adhere to the highest possible levels of hygiene. However, not all surgeries require prophylactic antibiotics; application of such measures is unnecessary for clean surgeries. Intervention While conducting surgery, studies indicate that the use of prophylactic antibiotics may help reduce the chances of chances of contracting surgical wound infection during the postsurgery period. Patients with wounds during a surgical procedure are more disposed to contracting infections as compared to those that had no wounds before surgical incision (Hegde, 2013). Surgery is a detailed experience; the use of prophylactic antibiotics is not a guarantee that capstonewriting.com there would be no surgical wound infections. Prophylactic antibiotics are just a measure that can PROPHYLACTIC ANTIBIOTICS 3 significantly reduce the chances of one getting infected on the surgical site. The use of prophylactic antibiotic is meant to ward off opportunistic infections. First generation cephalosporins are the preferred prophylactic antibiotics; the use of third-generation cephalosporins does not translate well to a majority of surgeries. When first and third generation cephalosporins get compared, the first generation category has a spectrum of activity able to counter organisms present in everyday surgical encounters (Hegde, 2013). Wholesale usage of prophylactic antibiotics on surgeries does not yield desired results (Elbur et al., 2013). Optimal prophylactic antibiotics performance occurs when the drugs get administered between fifteen minutes and one hour before surgery. The use of prophylactic antibiotic past the one hour period is not permissible where the surgery lasts for more than three hours; however, the efficacy of such does not show up in literature. Preoperative prophylactic antibiotics may help prevent post-surgical infections (Elbur et al., 2013). There are chances of prophylactic antibiotics misuse, they incl