Do topical antibiotics provide improved prophylaxis against bacterial growth in the presence of polypropylene mesh?
GROUND: Herniorrhaphies using a foreign body such as mesh can become infected. An experiment was performed in rabbits to compare three methods of antibiotic treatment to prevent the growth of bacteria in mesh-containing wounds. METHODS: This experiment compared preoperative intravenous antibiotics (cefazolin), topical antibiotics applied intraoperatively (bacitracin), and their combination in preventing the quantitative growth of bacteria in a subcutaneous wound containing a polypropylene mesh inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus. The bacteria were inoculated in doses sufficient to deliberately cause the growth of 130.0 +/- 56.4 x 10(4) bacteria per gram of tissue in saline-treated control animals. Quantitative cultures of the mesh and surrounding tissues were obtained 5 days after insertion of the mesh and inoculation of the wound. RESULTS: Experimental data showed that treatment with systemic intravenous antibiotics, topical powdered antibiotics, or their combination all statistical
