Prophylactic Antibiotics and Heart Surgery

Although there is uniform agreement on the profound beneficial effects of antibiotics for treating bacterial infections, it is remarkable how much controversy still surrounds the use of these agents in preventing bacterial sepsis. The case for using a specific antibiotic like penicillin to prevent infection by a single pathogen such as the Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus is well established.1 In contrast, the more general use of antibiotics to prevent "infection" in a variety of clinical circumstances such as coma, congestive heart failure or surgical procedures has been disappointingly unsuccessful when examined critically in controlled prospective studies.2 , 3 The article by Goodman . . .