Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Postoperative antibiotics did not lower infection risk after dog
By Jaramillo, Ericka L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2025·1BluePearl Pet Hospital·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Postoperative prophylactic antibiotics were not associated with decreased surgical site infections following hemilaminectomy in dogs: a retrospective study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 275 dogs that underwent hemilaminectomy surgery for intervertebral disk herniation were studied to see if giving antibiotics after surgery would reduce the risk of surgical site infections (SSIs). The overall infection rate was low at 3%, with no significant difference between dogs that received antibiotics and those that did not. This suggests that using antibiotics as a preventive measure may not be necessary for this type of surgery. The findings support the idea that avoiding unnecessary antibiotics can be safe for dogs undergoing clean surgical procedures.
People also search for: dog hemilaminectomy recovery · dog surgery infection prevention · postoperative antibiotics for dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare hemilaminectomy surgical site infection (SSI) rates in dogs treated with or without postoperative prophylactic antibiotics. METHODS: Medical records of 275 client-owned dogs from 1 tertiary referral hospital were retrospectively reviewed for dogs treated with thoracolumbar hemilaminectomy for intervertebral disk herniation between 2018 and 2023. Dogs were grouped according to whether they were treated with prophylactic postoperative antibiotics (group A) or not (group B). Relevant case details including dog signalment, duration of anesthetic procedure, method of incision closure, perioperative and prophylactic postoperative antibiotic prescription, and diagnosis of postoperative SSI (as defined by the CDC) were recorded. Wilson binomial CIs were calculated for SSI rates. Surgical site infection rates between dogs given or not given antibiotics were analyzed with a Fisher exact test. RESULTS: The overall SSI rate was 3% (8 of 275; 95% CI, 1% to 6%). The SSI rate in group A was 3% (5 of 147; 95% CI, 1% to 8%), which was not statistically different from the 2% SSI rate (3 of 128; 95% CI, 1% to 7%) in group B (P = .728). There was not a statistical difference in SSI rates between closure methods (intradermal absorbable, 1% [1 of 79]; cutaneous staples, 4% [7 of 184]; cutaneous nylon, 0% [0 of 12]; P = .611). CONCLUSIONS: Overall hemilaminectomy SSI rates in this study were low, and prescription of prophylactic antibiotics was not associated with a decreased SSI rate. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Practicing antimicrobial stewardship through avoidance of antimicrobial prophylaxis in clean surgical procedures may not be clinically detrimental to outcomes in hemilaminectomy dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39793197/