Safety and Efficacy of Postoperative Cefovecin Prophylaxis in Dogs Undergoing Clean Orthopedic Procedures

Background: Prophylactic antibiotic therapy is a modern practice that aims to reduce the incidence of Surgical Site Infections (SSI) with special importance on surgeries with implanted medical devices, like orthopedic procedures. Cefovecin (ConveniaTM) is a unique long-acting thirdgeneration cephalosporin that can maintain peak plasma levels for up to 14 days with a single parenteral injection. Cefovecin is known to be safe and effective as a treatment for infections of the skin, urinary, genital and respiratory tracts of companion animals. It can treat canine periodontal diseases as well. This study aimed to validate the use of cefovecin as postoperative prophylactic antibiotic treatment in dogs that underwent clean orthopedic surgeries compared to oral cephalexin.