Duration of Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Cochlear Implantation: A Systematic Review

Antibiotic prophylaxis is commonly given to all patients undergoing cochlear implant surgery. However, currently, there is no consensus if prophylactic usage of antibiotics in cochlear implantation accords any benefit and if the duration of such use varies according to the surgeon’s experience or institutional preference. A systematic review was conducted to gather evidence on ideal duration for antibiotic prophylaxis recommended for patients undergoing cochlear implantation. We registered the protocol in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42021235079) and reported the systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement. Of the 278 screened articles, 6 full-text original articles satisfied the inclusion criteria and were included. There were a total of 2081 participants in these 6 retrospective studies and all studies except 1 included both adult and pediatric populations. Antibiotic therapy was given as intervention, either as single dose or multiple doses, and compared with other group(s) receiving either no antibiotic prophylaxis or a different duration of prophylaxis. Three studies did not find any significant difference between infection rates when a different duration of antibiotic prophylaxis was given, while 2 studies found a single dose to be more efficacious, and yet another study concluded that a longer duration of antibiotic prophylaxis was more beneficial. Based on the available data, the ideal duration of post-operative antibiotic therapy to be given after cochlear implant surgery could not be defined. However, administrating a single dose of intraoperative antibiotic seems to be the most consistent practice so far.