A preliminary audit of practice--antibacterial prophylaxis in general surgery in an Indian hospital setting.

As a major proportion of antibacterials used in hospital practice are for surgical prophylaxis, an audit of practice in relation to antibacterial prophylaxis in general surgery was undertaken over a four week period in a teaching hospital to assess the extent to which principles governing surgical antibacterial prophylaxis were practised and to provide a feedback to the clinicians. The extent of use of anti-bacterial agents in surgical prophylaxis was 90%. The timing of administration was more than 2 h before surgery in 21% of the cases. Intravenous route was used in 97% of the cases. The duration of prophylaxis was more than 72 h in 48% of cases. Cefazolin was the most frequently prescribed either alone or in combination with metronidazole. The study indicated inappropriateness in the timing and duration of administration of surgical antibacterial prophylaxis.