A 5-Year Prospective Study on Effect of Antimicrobial Surgical Prophylaxis in the Department of General Surgery

Background: Antibiotic-resistant infections have elevated rates of morbidity and mortality, and antibiotic exposure is a significant trigger factor for drug resistance growth. If surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) increases risk for antibiotic-resistant infections, it may cause significant harm even if it decreases overall infection rates. The present study is planned to study the effect of antimicrobial surgical prophylaxis in the department of general surgery. Materials and Methods: This prospective study included young age people to old age people who underwent elective surgical procedures. The study was carried for 5 successive years from 2016 to 2020. Surgeries from multiple disciplines were included if SAP was considered discretionary by current guidelines. Results: According to the observations, the antibiotics were administered in all the surgical interventions and most of the pre-operatively antibiotics were administered by IV route. Graph showcases a gradual increase in antibiotic misuse both before and during the surgery. In the year 2016, the antibiotic usage in surgical prophylaxis was observed to be an average of 65.89%. This value was found to be progressively increasing in the successive years. By the year of 2020, the average hiked to the value of 97.11%. This is conclusive of the decreasing misuse of antibiotics with years. Especially the recent times reaching the maximum peak, as appreciated in the graph. This could be attributed as one of the major factors in development of resistance towards various microorganisms that has been managed. Conclusion: Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis is an important treatment technique for preventing postoperative infections, if the right antibiotics are administered at the right moment, for the right length of time, and for the right surgical procedures. It is crucial to use a narrow-spectrum antibiotic that is safe for the surgical venue. The expense of specific antibiotics and the endemicity of multi-resistant bacteria in specific units or clinics are also subject to periodic modification, so hospital surgical antibiotic prophylaxis procedures should be checked on a regular basis.