2014 AAHS Annual Meeting : Prophylactic Antibiotic Use in Hand Surgery: A Systematic Review

Data from 11 studies spanning 11,448 patients was analyzed to investigate the benefit of prophylactic antibiotics for simple hand lacerations or injuries. Infection rate in prophylactic antibiotic patients was 1.35% compared to 0.75% in patients not administered prophylactic antibiotics, which demonstrated a lack of clinical benefit associated with the use of prophylactic antibiotics. The study recommended a reduction in the use of antibiotics which would limit the development of antibiotic-resistant organisms and alleviate resource requirements.