Antibiotics given prophylactically for 24 hours or less are as effective as those given for 72 hours for preventing infections following ENT or oral and maxillofacial surgery, a review shows.

Most guidelines favour short-course postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis over prolonged prophylaxis, because little or no additional anti-infective benefits have been seen in lengthier regimens, the authors note.

There is little evidence, however, on the postoperative use of antimicrobial prophylaxis in ENT and oral and maxillofacial surgery, they write in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

The researchers examined the association of surgical-site infections with use of short-course versus extended-course antibiotic prophylaxis after ENT and oral and maxillofacial surgery in 21 prospective trials involving 1974 participants.