Vaginal preparation with povidone-iodine before abdominal hysterectomy. A comparison with antibiotic prophylaxis.

Two groups of women were prepared before total abdominal hysterectomy. The first by povidone-iodine tampons that remained in the vagina until the end of the operation, the second group by administration of a prophylactic antibiotic. We found statistically significant decreases both in infectious morbidity and in the percentage of positive cultures from the cervix and vagina, at the time of the operation in the povidone-iodine group as compared with the antibiotic group. Therefore, it is our impression that prophylactic antibiotic therapy for patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy should be reserved for the patient with compromised defence mechanisms if it is used at all, and recommend local preparation of the vagina with povidone-iodine as an effective alternative.