RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of a single prophylactic dose of ampicillin combined with metronidazole to prevent postcesarean section infections compared with a multiple day regimen in low-resource settings. DESIGN: An evaluator-blinded randomized, controlled, noninferiority trial. SETTING: Two rural hospitals in Tanzania. POPULATION: Of 181 enrolled eligible women with an indication for cesarean section, information on 176 was analyzed by intention-to-treat. METHODS: The women were randomly assigned to either the intervention group who received a single dose of ampicillin and metronidazole, or to the control group who received a multiple-day regimen of ampicillin/amoxicillin and metronidazole. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was maternal postcesarean infection. Secondary outcomes were severity of these infections, other maternal complications, and the duration of hospital stay. RESULTS: In the intervention group (n = 89), six women (6.7%) developed a wound infection compared with nine (10.3%) in the control group (n = 87) (difference 3.60; 95% CI -4.65 to 11.85) (p = 0.40). CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of prophylactic ampicillin and metronidazole is equally effective as a multiple-day regimen in preventing postcesarean wound infections in low-resource settings, therefore it can be considered as a good strategy in low-resource settings. The reduced quantity of prophylactic antibiotics will reduce costs without increasing the risk of maternal infection.