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33rd Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings
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Session:
Date/Time: 30-11--0001 (00:00 - 00:00)
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Impact of perioperative antibiotics in equine closed castrations
Sjöberg I1, Ljungvall K*1, Andersen PH2, Sternberg-Lewerin S3
1Department of Clinical Sciences, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden, 2Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden, 3Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden.
Objectives:
The responsible use of antibiotics is crucial to combat antimicrobial resistance. Equine castrations with primary wound closure typically exhibit surgical site infection rates below 5%. Perioperative antibiotics are usually recommended only for procedures where the incidence of surgical site infection exceeds 5% without antibiotics. However, research on castrations without perioperative antibiotics is limited. This study aims to investigate the impact of perioperative antibiotics on complication rates after primary sutured equine castrations.
Methods:
A retrospective analysis based on medical records of 251 equine castrations (2016-2023) was conducted. Data encompassing horse demographics, peri-and postoperative medications, surgical techniques, and documented complications were assessed by descriptive statistics and analysed with Fisher's exact test.
Results:
The dataset included horses with a mean age of 3.1 years (range 1-15 years). All castrations utilized a closed technique with primary sutured wounds, yielding an overall complication rate of 9.6%. Perioperative antibiotics were administered to 54% of the 251 horses. Complication rates stood at 12.5% among those administered antibiotics and 6.0% in horses without antibiotic administration. The difference was not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
Administering perioperative antibiotics did not reduce the complication rates after closed castration with primary sutured wounds. These findings prompt a reconsideration of the perioperative use of antibiotics for closed castrations in equine hospital settings. Furthermore, the results suggest a need for a tailored approach to curb unnecessary antibiotic exposure and optimize outcomes.
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