netilmicin and Head-and-Neck-Neoplasms

Twenty-two patients undergoing major head and neck surgery were included in a randomized trial to value the efficacy and side effects of parenteral short-term antibiotic prophylaxis of post-operative infections. Two different antibiotic regimens were compared: group A, ceftazidime i.v. (2 g) in three doses (half an hour before surgery, 8 and 16 hours, from the first dose); group B, netilmicin (100 mg) plus clindamycin (600 mg i.v.), following the same chronological schedule. Overall infection rate was 18% (4/22): all post-operative infections occurred in group A patients, including one case of wound infection and 3 mixed infections (wound infection associated with lung infection), with a significant reduction of post-operative infection rate in group B patients (p = 0.045; Fisher's exact test).

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Bacterial Infections; Ceftazidime; Clindamycin; Drug Evaluation; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Netilmicin; Postoperative Complications; Premedication

429 patients undergoing surgery for head and neck tumors were involved in 4 consecutive, randomized clinical trials of antimicrobial prophylaxis: placebo versus ampicillin plus cloxacillin (2 g of each daily for 6 days), ticarcillin (5 g X 12, 8-hourly) versus carbenicillin (10 g X 12, 8-hourly) short carbenicillin prophylaxis (1 day) versus prolonged carbenicillin prophylaxis (4 days) and clindamycin (900 mg, 4 daily doses) versus clindamycin plus netilmicin (90 mg, 4 daily doses). Aerobic gram-negative strains were the microorganisms most frequently isolated either from colonized or infected wounds. The first controlled study showed a significant decrease in the rate of postoperative bacterial infections in the treated group as compared to the placebo-treated group (p less than 0.05). In all the subsequent treatment groups, postoperative infection rates ranged from 6 to 16%. Short prophylaxis was as effective as prolonged prophylaxis. A regimen directed mainly against anaerobes (clindamycin) did not seem of less value than broad spectrum regimens covering most aerobic gram-negative bacilli.

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacterial Infections; Clindamycin; Clinical Trials as Topic; Double-Blind Method; Drug Combinations; Drug Therapy, Combination; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Netilmicin; Penicillins; Premedication; Surgical Wound Infection