Is Postoperative Prophylactic Antibiotics Necessary for Pediatric Scrotal and Inguinal Outpatient Surgeries

Purpose: Excess usage of antibiotics can cause complications of antibiotics and rise of antibiotic-resistant strains. However, guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis differ between countries. We evaluated necessity of postoperative prophylactic antibiotics for pediatric patients who underwent scrotal and inguinal outpatient surgeries. Materials and Methods: From April 2011 to April 2014, 725 patients (mean age, 30.5±21.6 months) who underwent outpatient surgery (hydrocelectomy, orchiopexy, orchiectomy, and inguinal herniorrhaphy) were evaluated. In group 1 (556 cases), each patient had intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis only preoperatively. In group 2 (169 cases), each patient had intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis preand post-operatively. In group 1 and group 2, we analyzed postoperative complications including wound dehiscence, fever, skin erythema, pain, pus, and diarrhea with medical records. Results: In group 1 and group 2, mean age was 30.4±21.7 months (5.0-108.0 months) and 30.8±21.2 months (7.0-108.0 months), respectively. In group 1 and group 2, the mean operative time was 29.6±2.4 minutes and 29.7±2.5 minutes, respectively. The differences of mean age and mean operative time were not statistically significant (p=0.82 and p=0.77, respectively). Nine patients in group 1 and two patients in group 2 had postoperative complications. The difference between two groups was statistically insignificant (p=0.69). According to age and operation, the differences of postoperative complications were not statistically significant. However, in patients under 2 years old, more complications tended to occur in group 1 than in group 2. Conclusions: Postoperative prophylactic antibiotics may not be necessary for pediatric scrotal and inguinal outpatient surgeries.