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Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 1962;44:1548-1552.
© 1962 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc

Wound Sepsis in Orthopaedic Surgery

George J. Schonholtz 1, Charles A. Borgia 1, and John D. Blair 1

1 Orthopaedic Service, Walter Reed General Hospital, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D. C.

To test the effectiveness of postoperative prophylactic antibiotics in orthopaedic surgery, 331 non-infected surgical candidates were studied at Walter Reed General Hospital over a twelve-month period. The patients were divided at random on the basis of their hospital register numbers into control and experimental groups. One hundred and fifty-nine patients received no antibiotics post-operatively; 172 received chloramphenicol. A two-to-four gram daily dose, based on the patient's weight, was administered for ten days after operation. Statistical analysis revealed that both the control and the experimental groups were comparable with respect to the magnitude and type of surgery, age, and sex. Classification of a wound as infected was based solely on positive bacteriological evidence.

See table in the PDF file

The rate of postoperative wound infection for the group receiving no antibiotics was 3.8 per cent, whereas that for the group receiving chloramphenicol prophylactically was 6.4 per cent.


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