Role of cefuroxime as antibiotic prophylaxis for general surgery: An expert opinion

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are serious postoperative complications reported globally, which lead to perioperative antibiotics use during routine practice in surgical procedures. Selection of appropriate antibiotic/s for prophylaxis is a vital step in the management and care of invasive surgical procedures. This expert opinion review was developed based on expert discussion and literature search on scientific databases with special emphasis on cefuroxime in surgical prophylaxis for general surgeries. Cephalosporins are globally considered to be the drugs of choice for surgical prophylaxis in general surgeries owing to good safety, bactericidal activity, penetration to critical tissues, and proven efficacy in clinical trials. Cefuroxime, a 2nd generation cephalosporin, is an effective, safe and low-cost antibiotic for surgical prophylaxis in general surgeries, in particular for patients who need sequential antibiotic therapy. Cefuroxime can be administered alone or in combination with other classes of antibiotics based on clinical characteristics of individual patients and surgeon’s discretion to reduce the risk of postoperative SSIs, abscess, septicemia, and microbial growth. Cefuroxime can be administered alone or in combination with other classes of antibiotics based on clinical characteristics of individual patients and surgeon’s discretion to reduce the risk of postoperative SSIs, abscess, septicemia, and microbial growth.