Is Prophylactic Antibiotic Necessary in The Knee Arthroscopy?

Abstract

Purpose: A comparative and prospective study was carried out to find out the effects of the prophylactic antibiotic use on the infection of due to knee arthroscopy. Materials and
Methods: Between 1993 and 1996, 450 patients who had been done knee arthroscopy because of various knee pathologies. They were divided into two equal groups as group one, which was given prophylactic antibiotics and group two, which was not. Group one received single dose of third generation cephalosporin (ceftriaxone) intravenously.
Results: There was no significant statistical difference between the patient features, diagnosis, and the treatment in these groups. There were no clinical and laboratory findings of infection in any patient in both groups after knee arthroscopy.
Conclusion: These results suggest that the routine use of prophylactic antibiotics is not necessary for patients undergone knee arthroscopy. Moreover, antibiotics may increase the cost of treatment and causes allergic reactions.