Mezlocillin single-dose prophylaxis in biliary tract surgery.

A prospective, controlled, double-blind, randomized multicenter trial including 12 Swiss hospitals with 358 patients was carried out. The aim of the study was to investigate whether a single-dose prophylaxis with 5 g mezlocillin given immediately before surgery can reduce not only the incidence of wound infections but other bacterial complications as well. Of the 324 correct protocols, 165 belonged to the placebo and 159 to the mezlocillin group. The two groups are comparable in all regards. The incidence of wound infections was 10% in the control and 4% in the treated group (p less than 0.05). The number of other infectious complications could not be reduced. No side effects due to the prevention were observed. Single-dose prevention with mezlocillin is proposed for all patients undergoing biliary tract surgery.