Infections in foot and ankle bone surgery: Comparison between single- and multiday use of postoperative oral antibiotics

To date, no consensus has been reached regarding the efficacy or duration of postoperative oral antibiotics after foot and ankle surgery. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of single- and multiday prophylactic use of postoperative oral antibiotics in foot and ankle bone surgery using inflammatory biomarkers. In total, 64 patients who underwent foot and ankle bone surgery at our institution were divided into multiday (n = 43) and single-day (n = 21) postoperative oral antibiotics groups. Demographic characteristics, diagnosis, and type of surgery were recorded. Surgical site infection and inflammatory biomarkers including the white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein level were evaluated pre- and postoperatively. There was no case of surgical site infection or other complications with single- and multiday oral antibiotic prophylaxis among patients undergoing foot and ankle bone surgery. The single-day postoperative oral antibiotics group had a significantly shorter antibiotic duration compared with the multiday group (P < .001). Regarding inflammatory biomarkers, there were no significant between-group differences in the pre- or postoperative white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, or C-reactive protein level (P > .05). In conclusion, single-day oral antibiotic prophylaxis in patients undergoing foot and ankle bone surgery showed favorable outcomes. There were no significant differences in inflammatory biomarker levels between the single- and multiday oral antibiotic prophylaxis groups.