Extended use of perioperative antibiotics in head and neck microvascular reconstruction

Purpose: Many head and neck surgical procedures are considered clean-contaminated wounds and antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended. Despite prophylaxis, the incidence of surgical site infections remains significant-especially in the setting of free tissue transfer. The antibiotic course is often of a longer duration after free tissue transfer than the recommended 24 hour post-operatively. Currently, there is no consensus on appropriate antibiotic regimen or duration at this time. This study investigates the outcomes of a 7-day perioperative antibiotic regimen after microvascular reconstruction of the head and neck at our institution. Materials and methods: A retrospective review was performed of 72 patients undergoing microvascular free tissue at our institution between 09/2011 and 03/2014. The antibiotic regimen, post-operative surgical (including surgical site infections) and medical complications were noted. Our rates of complications and adverse events were compared to all surgical patients, as well as all inpatients hospital-wide with use of the University Health System Consortium database. Results: Seventy-two subjects met inclusion criteria for this study. The majority of subjects received cefazolin/metronidazole (69.4%). Subjects with beta-lactam allergy received clindamycin (12.5%). The remainder received an alternative regimen (18.1%). All received at least 7 days of antibiotics. The rate of hospital acquired C difficile diarrhea was 0.57% hospital-wide, 1.13% in Otolaryngology patients, and 1.4% in this study. There were no instances of a multi-drug resistant infection or any adverse reactions to the administration of antibiotics. When compared with other antibiotic regimens, clindamycin was associated with a significantly increased rate of either medical or surgical infections (OR 14.38, p = 0.02) and longer hospital stay (average = 18 days, p < 0.05). Conclusion: The use of a 7-day prophylactic antibiotic regimen is not associated with an increased risk of antibiotic-associated infections, multi-drug resistant infections, or antibiotic-associated complications. The use of clindamycin is associated with increased risk of medical and surgical infections post-operatively and should be avoided in the prophylactic perioperative phase after free tissue transfer of the head and neck. (C) 2017. Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.