Prophylactic role of cephaloridine in surgical wounds.

The incidence of postoperative wound infection was studied in relation to 146 surgical wounds in patients who received cephaloridine as prophylactic antibacterial therapy, and in relation to 120 wounds in another group of patients who did not receive cephaloridine. In the first group, 5 of 146 (3.4%) of wounds became infected; in the second, 25 of 120 (20.8%) of wounds became infected. The difference between the two groups is significant. Use of cephaloridine in this series of patients therefore decreased the incidence of postoperative wound infection.