Current prophylactic perioperative antibiotic guidelines in trauma: a review of the literature and outcome data.

A comprehensive review of prophylactic use of perioperative antibiotics in trauma from the 1970s to the present was performed. Evidence based guidelines were used to analyze the data from the past 32 years and define standards of care in the field. Recommendations and suggestions are provided to offer guidelines for prophylactic antibiotic use in trauma. Highlighted topics include general trauma surgery, with focus placed on abdominal and thoracic surgery in trauma, and non-trauma surgery, including subspecialties, for comparison.