Citation: Gynecological Surgery. 2013, 10, S13
Author: Minas V.; Nahid G.; David R.
Abstract: We conducted a survey which suggests significant variation in clinicians' practice and potential overuse of prophylactic antibiotics in gynaecological endoscopy in the United Kingdom. Introduction: Surgical site infection is a common post-operative complication that can result to increased morbidity, prolonged hospital stay and readmission. Pre-operative antibiotics may prevent such infections. Unnecessary prophylaxis however can be detrimental due to adverse reactions, emergence of resistant bacteria and additional costs. Endoscopic procedures are thought to carry a lowrisk of surgical site contamination and therefore antibiotics may not confer any additional benefit. Many European countries, including the UK, lack relevant guidelines. Material and Methods: The survey was designed using the SurveyMonkey website (www.surveymonkey.com) and emailed to the members of the British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE). The members were asked to select "yes", "no", "unsure" or I do not perform this procedur Results: Seventy nine BSGE members responded to our survey. There is significant variation in
clinicians' practice in intermediate level laparoscopy. One in 8 surgeons administers antibiotics for diagnostic laparoscopy, whereas 1 in10 do so for diagnostic hysteroscopy. Hospitals often lack such guidelines. A national guideline would be welcomed by most responders. Discussion: Antibiotic prophylaxis is over-utilised in gynaecological endoscopy in the UK. Production of relevant national recommendations is likely to benefit both patients and hospitals and will provide coherence in clinical practice. These conclusions are likely to be also applicable to other European countries.
