An evaluation of cefoxitin in the prevention of postoperative infections following orthopedic surgical procedures.

An open, nonrandomized study of 25 patients was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of cefoxitin in the prevention of postoperative infection following orthopedic surgical procedures. Cefoxitin was administered in a 2 g dose preoperatively and continued postoperatively at a dose of 2 g every six hours for 72 hours. The mean peak serum level achieved ten minutes after the preoperative dose was 153.7 mcg/ml. The mean bone level in samples taken during the procedure was 10.14 mcg/ml. All patients were monitored postoperatively and at intervals of six weeks, four months and six months for signs of early or late morbidity. No signs of major morbidity were observed in the study group.