Data from: Prevention of surgical site infection in lower limb skin lesion excisions with single dose oral antibiotic prophylaxis – a prospective randomised placebo controlled double blind trial

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of a single perioperative prophylactic 2g dose of cephalexin in preventing surgical site infection following excision of skin lesions from the lower limb. Design: Prospective double-blinded placebo-controlled trial testing for difference in infection rates Setting: Primary care in regional North Queensland Australia. Participants: 52 patients undergoing lower limb skin lesion excision Interventions: 2g dose of cephalexin 30-60 minutes before excision Main outcome measures: Incidence of surgical site infection. Results: Incidence of SSI was 12.5% (95% CI 2.7 to 32.4) in cephalexin group compared to 35.7% (95% CI 18.6 to 55.9) in the placebo group (p-value 0.064). This represented an absolute reduction of 23.21% (95% CI -0.39 to 46.82%), relative reduction of 65.00% (95% CI -12.70 to 89.13%) and Number-Needed-to-Treat of 4.3. Conclusions: Administration of a single 2g dose of cephalexin 30-60 minutes before skin lesion excision from the lower limb may produce a reduction in the incidence of infection however this study was underpowered to statistically determine this. Trial registration: ACTRN12611000595910