Paper Title
Use of Prophylactic Antibiotics in Hysterectomy and Postoperative Infection

Abstract
It has been proved that use of prophylactic antibiotics can significantly reduce the postoperative surgical site infection (SSI) rate, shorten length of stay and save health care expenses. Medical charts are reviewed retrospectively from 2006 to 2008. The subjects are divided into 3 groups by the administration time before incision (30 minutes-group A, 30-60 minutes-group B, 60 minutes-group C) and the nurse practitioner reviewed charts on postoperative SSI and other clinical quality indicators 1 year after operation. Also, length of stay (LOS) and health care expenses are retrieved from the hospital information system (HIS) for analysis.There are 369 patients undergoing hysterectomy from 2006 to 2008, and 5 of them had postoperative SSI with rate of 1.3%. The SSI(s) are 1.95% (3/162), 2.3% (2/86), and 0% (0/14) for groups A, B, and C respectively. The difference in SSI is not significantly different among 3 groups. The average LOS(s) are 5.0�1.7, 4.9�2.3, and 5.1�1.9 days for groups A, B, and C respectively. Though it is not significantly different, there is a trend of longer LOS in the group C (administration time 60 minutes before incision). The health care expenses are similar at the range of $USD 1,546 to $USD1,702. Index Terms� Hysterectomy, Prophylactic Antibiotics, Surgical Site Infection.