Background: There is a growing presence of literature within plastic surgery that establishes best practice for postoperative antibiotics after implant-based breast reconstruction (IBBR), although it has not been widely adopted or translated into clinical practice. This study aims to determine how antibiotic and duration affects patient outcomes. We hypothesize that IBBR patients who receive a longer duration of postoperative antibiotics will demonstrate higher rates of antibiotic resistance as compared with the institutional antibiogram.
Methods: A retrospective chart review included patients who underwent IBBR between 2015 and 2020 at a single institution. Variables of interest included patient demographics, comorbidities, surgical techniques, infectious complications, and antibiograms. Groups were classified by antibiotic (cephalexin, clindamycin, or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole) and duration (≤7 days, 8-14 days, and >14 days).
Results: There were a total of 70 patients who experienced infections included in this study. Onset of infection did not differ based on antibiotic during either device implantation (postexpander P = 0.391; postimplant P = 0.234). Antibiotic and duration did not have an established relationship with explantation rate either (P = 0.154). In patients who had Staphylococcus aureus isolated, there was significantly increased resistance to clindamycin when compared with the institutional antibiogram (sensitivities of 43% and 68%, respectively).
Conclusions: Neither antibiotic nor duration displayed a difference in overall patient outcomes, including explantation rates. In this cohort, S. aureus strains isolated in association with IBBR infections demonstrated a higher level of resistance to clindamycin compared with strains isolated and tested within the broader institution.
Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.