RESUMEN
In a trial to find out how effective is the currently used regimen of administration of prophylactic antibiotics before cardiac surgery, this study was conducted on 3 groups of patients undergoing cardiac operations. The first group included 15 patients undergoing closed heart surgery and receiving no preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis. The second included 15 patients also undergoing closed heart surgery but receiving preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis. The third group included 30 patients undergoing open heart surgery and receiving preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis. Postoperative aerobic and anaerobic blood cultures were done to all patients, the incidence of postoperative bacteremia and the type of isolated microorganisms were used for evaluation of antibiotic efficacy. The study showed a significant difference in the incidence of postoperative bacteremia between patients with closed heart surgery who did not receive and those who received antibiotic prophylaxis [P <0.0005]. Postoperative bacteremia in open heart surgery was significantly higher than in closed heart surgery when all patients received prophylactic antibiotics [P <0.001]