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  Vol. 136 No. 2, February 2000 TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Use Caution When Establishing "Routine" Prophylactic Antibiotic Procedures

Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The communication by Drs Griego and Zitelli1 states the following: "Because of the potential for serious complications, most surgeons—dermatologic, plastic, otorhinolaryngologic, and general—routinely administer systemic antibiotics prior to some or all facial cutaneous surgery." I find this comment both confusing and distressing for a number of reasons.

What does it mean to say a surgeon "routinely" administers antibiotics prior to "some or all" facial cutaneous surgery? That portion of the statement does not seem to be meaningful, and the reader is certainly left to interpret it in various ways. An explanation of this most confusing cluster of words is certainly in order. I hesitate to speculate as to the meaning of this statement.

The more important concern is that this strong but meaningless statement is presented as if it is the standard of surgical practice. However, no evidence was presented to support such a statement. To leave such a statement . . . [Full Text of this Article]







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