Effectiveness of penicillin irrigation in control of infection in sutured lacerations.

We studied the incidence of infection in lacerations in a controlled, double-blind, Armitage sequential clinical trial. After standard prescribed preparation of the wound area, and immediately before suture, each laceration was flooded with the 10 ml content of a numbered, amber glass vial. Half of the vials contained a solution of 0.9% NaCl; half contained a 5% solution of sodium benzyl penicillin. No other factors were controlled. A single observer made the determinations of presence or absence of infection, purulent or nonpurulent, early and late after suture. After study of 260 lacerations the study indicated a clear superiority of penicillin over saline in lowering the incidence of infection with a statistical significance of p less than 0.00005. In a sample of this size the 95% confidence limits of the magnitude of the superiority of penicillin cover a wide range, but it appears that two out of three or three out of four infections can be averted merely by flooding the wound with penicillin immediately before suture.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes