Antimicrobial prophylaxis in hysterectomies: a double-blind, randomized, comparative study of a single dose of piperacillin (2 g) versus a single dose of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (2.2 g).

A double-blind, randomized comparative study of piperacillin (2 g) versus amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (2.2 g) as a single dose 30 minutes before the initiation of hysterectomy was performed. A total of 595 patients (of which 307 were in the piperacillin group) were evaluable for efficacy. Infectious complications were infrequent in both arms. One case of (mild) sepsis was observed in the piperacillin group and two cases of wound infection were observed in the amoxicillin-clavulanic acid group. Urinary tract infection was observed in 5.5% of the patients in the piperacillin group and in 2.4% of the amoxicillin-clavulanic acid group. A relatively high incidence of asymptomatic bacteriuria was seen in both groups: 11.8% in the piperacillin group and 8.7% with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. A marked difference was seen between the two different hospital locations: a 15% incidence in the hospital where midstream urine was used for culture (Sittard), versus 5% in the hospital where catheter urine was used (Geleen). It is concluded that both antibiotics are associated with a low rate of infectious complications and that catheter urine must be used for sample collection.