Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Plastic Surgery: From Systematic Review to Operative Algorithm

BACKGROUND: We aimed to provide a single, viable and user-friendly operative protocol for preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis that meets the needs of all plastic surgery practitioners. METHODS: The research was conducted through the abstract and citation databases of peer-reviewed literature Pubmed® (National Center for Biotechnology Information), Medscape® (General Surgery) and Scopus® (Elsevier), comparing existing data from 2010 to 2020. A separated and dedicated research was accomplished for each of 8 macroareas such as: skin and soft tissue, hand, breast, aesthetics, head and neck, trauma, burns and miscellaneous. RESULTS: The findings for each macroareas included the choice of the antibiotic, the route and timing of administration and the clinical applications. Finally, the review has been condensed in an operative algorithm for antibiotic use to apply in each field of plastic surgery. CONCLUSION: We could provide plastic surgeon an effective, easy-to-use operative protocol for antibiotic prophylaxis in daily activity.