Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSChloramphenicol not effective against wound infection
The common practice of applying chloramphenicol to sutured wounds as prophylaxis against wound infections is not clinically effective, according to Australian researchers.
They set out to determine the efficacy of a single application of topical chloramphenicol ointment in preventing infection in 488 patients who had undergone minor dermatology surgery. A control group received paraffin ointment.
The absolute reduction in infection rate between the intervention and control group was 4.4%, which was not clinically significant. The number of patients needed to be treated with the intervention to avoid one infection would be 23, the researchers added online in the BMJ.
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