Obese women who receive antibiotics after cesarean delivery have a reduced risk for surgical site infections, according to a single-center study in JAMA.
Some 400 women with a prepregnancy body-mass index of 30 or higher who received intravenous cefazolin before C-section were randomized to receive oral cephalexin plus metronidazole or matching placebo for 48 hours after surgery. Incidence of the primary outcome — a surgical site infection within 30 days after delivery — was significantly lower in the antibiotic versus placebo group (6% vs. 15%). Treatment wasn’t associated with any serious adverse events.
The researchers calculated that 12 women would need to be treated to prevent one post-C-section surgical site infection in this patient population.