Role of quinolones in surgical prophylaxis.

The general principles involved in the use of chemoprophylaxis in surgery, the selection of patients at risk, and the choice of antibiotic agents are reasonably well established. While a good deal of data exist regarding commonly used prophylactic regimens, very little data are available on the role of quinolones in surgical prophylaxis. The literature dealing with this area is reviewed, and studies on the use of quinolones in biliary, colorectal, urologic, orthopedic and vascular surgery are discussed. The data suggest that generally the quinolones are as efficacious as the other antibiotics with which they were compared, and in the case of urologic surgery the results using quinolones were better than those in non-treated controls. Single-dose prophylaxis was regularly shown to be as effective as multiple dose regimens. Further clinical trial data are necessary before any firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the role of quinolones in surgical prophylaxis.