Comparison between use and non-use of prophylactic antibiotics in severe acute pancreatitis. Randomized clinical trial. preliminary report

Abstract

Introduction: Acute pancreatitis is a common disease in the country, with a mortality rate of 10%-30%. The prophylactic administration of antibiotics has been part of the treatment of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP), due to the theoretical prevention of infectious complications and mortality reduction. However, the available scientific evidence is controversial. Objective: To demonstrate that prophylactic antibiotics do not reduce local and/or systemic complications, critical patient unit (CPU) requirement, or mortality in SAP. We define SAP as APACHE II ≥ 8 or PCR ≥ 150º or multiorgan failure. Material and Method: Randomized clinical trial, with simple randomization by electronic table (use or non-use of prophylactic antibiotics) of patients with SAP. In the group that used prophylactic antibiotics, ciprofloxacin and me-tronidazole were used for 7 days. Results: n = 71, two randomized groups; Group 1 (n = 35), without the use of prophylactic antibiotics, and group 2 (n = 36) with the use of antibiotic prophylaxis. 12 patients (16%) required CPU; 6 patients from group 1, and 6 from group 2 (p = 0.957). Seven patients (9.8%) had some type of complication, 3 in group 1 and 4 in group 2 (p = 0.516). The average hospital stay was 18.2 ± 9.5 days in group 1, and 22.6 ± 29.2 days in group 2 (p = 0.495). Mortality: 1 patient (1.41%) in group 2 (p = 0.493). Conclusion: In this preliminary report, the use of prophylactic antibiotics in SAP was not shown to reduce complications, need for bed in CPU, or mortality.