Resumen

GONZALEZ GONZALEZ, Justo Luis. Profilaxis con antibióticos en fracturas de base de cráneo: ¿tiene justificación esa conducta?. Rev Cubana Cir [online]. 1998, vol.37, n.2, pp.86-92. ISSN 0034-7493.

A study of 380 patients with basilar skull fracture was performed. 71 (18.7 %) of these patients were given antibiotic prophylaxis for meningoencephalitis and 309 (81.3 %) were not. The relation of prophylactic or therapeutical use of antimicrobial agents, fracture location, associated injures, septic complications, age and sex to the meningoencephalitis coming out was evaluated. 7 patients (1.8 %) developed infections of the central nervous system, 3 (4.2 %) had been treated with antibiotics and 4 (1.3 %) had not. The bivariate analysis proved that the meningoencephalitis was linked to the type of septic complications that might affect patients as well as the therapeutical use of antibiotics to eliminate them but the multivariate analysis did not demonstrate so. It is concluded that the use of the antibiotic prophylaxis in these patients is not substantiated which turns this method into a negative practice from the medical and economic points of view

Palabras clave : SKULL FRACTURE [complications]; MENINGOENCEPHALITIS [prevention and control]; ANTIBIOTICS [administration & dosage].