Reduced Rate of Postoperative Infections in Emergency Cesarean Section after Two Doses of Cefuroxim Perioperatively: A Placebo-Controlled Study

The rate of postoperative infections after cesarean section was studied in a prospective double-blind randomized study to compare cefuroxim with a placebo. Intravenous bolus injections were given at the beginning of, and 12h after the operation. Eighty patients received cefuroxim and 80 received placebo. Endometritis or wound infection, or both, was diagnosed in 2/80 (2.5%) patients receiving cefuroxim and in 23/80 (29%) patients receiving placebo. No side effects were demonstrated or reported by the patients. Thus, two bolus injections of 1.5 g of cefuroxim given peri-operatively significantly reduced postoperative infectious morbidity after emergency cesarean section.