Letter by Khan et al Regarding Article “Efficacy of Antibiotic Prophylaxis Before the Implantation of Pacemakers and Cardioverter-Defibrillators: Results of a Large, Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial”

To the Editor: We read with interest the recent article by Oliveira et al1 demonstrating that a single intravenous dose of 1 g cefazolin at the time of implantation significantly reduces infectious complications in patients undergoing pacemaker or cardioverter-defibrillator implantation. This reinforces the conclusion from the meta-analysis by Da Costa et al2 that prophylactic systemic antibiotics should be given at the time of implantation. We agree with this and recently performed a questionnaire-based observational study of all 121 adult National Health Service hospital units in England implanting …