Practice Management Guidelines for Prophylactic Antibiotic Use in Tube Thoracostomy for Traumatic Hemopneumothorax: the EAST Practice Management Guidelines Work Group. Eastern Association for Trauma.

Publication/Presentation Date

4-1-2000

Abstract

Multiple factors contribute to the development of posttraumatic empyema. These factors include the conditions under which the tube is inserted (emergent or urgent), the mechanism of injury, retained hemothorax, and ventilator care. The incidence of empyema in placebo groups ranges between 0 and 18%. The administration of antibiotics for longer than 24 hours did not seem to significantly reduce this risk compared with a shorter duration, although the numbers in each series were small. Most reports found a significant reduction in pneumonitis when patients received prolonged prophylactic antibiotics. This use of antibiotics might possibly be better described as presumptive therapy rather than prophylactic.

Volume

48

Issue

4

First Page

753

Last Page

757

ISSN

0022-5282

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Other Medical Specialties | Surgery

PubMedID

10780613

Department(s)

Department of Surgery, Department of Surgery Faculty

Document Type

Article

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