Reduction of hospital cost and administration of prophylactic antibiotherapy in gynecological surgery.

The present study attempts to evaluate the efficacy and safety of three of the most popular third-generation cephalosporins, and demonstrates the reduction in cost resulting from their use. Our study included 223 women admitted for abdominal hysterectomy (mean age 54), 200 of whom were assigned randomly to one of four groups. The first group did not use an antibiotic prophylaxis. The second group used ceftriaxone, the third cefotaxime and the fourth ceftazidime. In the three treatment groups one 2-g dose of the antibiotic was provided 60 min before the operation. Additional doses were given only if post-operative infection was established. Our results indicated that one dose of antibiotic prophylaxis with third-generation cephalosporins reduces the morbidity in gynecological surgery. Cefotaxime proved to be the most cost-effective of these three cephalosporins, with low morbidity and a low rate of hospitalization.