Antibiotic Prophylaxis Protocols and Surgical Site Infection Rates in Trauma Surgery: A Prospective Regional Study of 26,849 Procedures.

Introduction Prophylactic antibiotics have been shown to reduce the rate of surgical site infection (SSI) 1, however there is little evidence supporting the effectiveness of one antibiotic over another. We have studied SSI rates and antibiotic prophylaxis protocols in Northern Ireland trauma surgery over a 10-year period to Identify the most effective antibiotic protocol associated with lowest rate of SSI.