A prospective double-blind comparison of piperacillin, cephalothin and cefoxitin in the prevention of postoperative infections in patients undergoing intra-abdominal operations.

Piperacillin has been shown to be as safe and effective an agent as cephalothin and cefoxitin when used in patients undergoing elective intra-abdominal surgical procedures. Enterococcus species have been shown in other studies to be susceptible to piperacillin, perhaps making it the preferred antibiotic for prophylaxis in clinical settings when enteric flora will be encountered.