ABSTRACT
The present study was carried to compare the prophylactic efficacy of parenteral single dose Cefuroxime (C) in comparison to parenteral single dose Ampicillin-Sulbactam (A+S) in patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy. Two hundred patients were randomly allocated to single dose parenterally (intra-venous) of either of the regimen before the induction of anaesthesia. Two groups were compared on the basis of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, rate of development of wound infection, duration of surgery and hospital stay. Patients were followed up for 30 days and inspected for the development of wound infection. Frequency of bile infection and the sensitivity of the organisms to study drugs and the corelation between bile infection and risk of wound infection were also recorded. Peri-operative prophylactic antimicrobials seem to play a significant role. Both A+S and C when given prophylactically play a significant role in prevention of surgical site infections. However, A+S seems to be more effective than C in doing so in case of high risk groups. Risk of wound infection significantly increases with co existing morbidity. Bile infection does not significantly increase the risk of surgical site infection. Duration of surgery does not significantly increase the risk of wound infection. A+S and C were equally effective in preventing surgical site infections undergoing elective cholecystectomy, but A+S favored better than C in prevention of surgical site infections in high risk patients.