A prospective trial of prophylactic antibiotics in hand lacerations

Abstract

A series of 368 patients with hand lacerations which required suturing were randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups. The incidence of infected and of imperfectly healed wounds was noted 7 days after suturing. As well as the influence of antibiotics on healing, sixteen other factors which it was considered might affect healing were analysed. The overall infection rate was 9·8 per cent, and there was no significant difference between the three groups. The imperfect healing rate (which includes the infected cases) was 24·6 per cent. There was a lower rate (P<0·05) of imperfect healing in the Triplopen group (15 per cent) than in either the flucloxacillin group (29·5 per cent) or the group who received no antibiotics (29·0 per cent). Other factors associated with imperfect healing found to be significant at the 1 per cent level, were wound contamination, pain and the presence of a wet or changed dressing at the second examination.