A randomized controlled double blind trial comparing the effects of the prophylactic antibiotic, Cefazolin, administered at caesarean delivery at two different timings (before skin incision and after cord clamping) on both the mother and newborn

Background: Caesarean delivery (CD) increases the risk of postpartum infection by 5 to 20 fold. Prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) is the goal of antibiotic prophylaxis. This study was carried out to assess the optimum timing for prophylactic antibiotic administration and to assess the amount of the antibiotic crossing the placental barrier. Methods: Eligible mothers were recruited, after informed consent, once the decision for CD was made. Each mother received two injections, one prior to skin incision and one after cord clamping, (one being the study drug Cefazolin, and the other, a placebo) based on the randomization code. Demographic, maternal and neonatal monitoring data until discharge from hospital, and at the 6 weeks postpartum visit were collected. Levels of the prophylactic antibiotic were measured from the cord blood in every 8th neonate. The objective of the study was to compare the effects of the prophylactic antibiotic, intravenous Cefazolin 1 g, administered at Caesarean delivery (CD) at two different timings (before skin incision and after cord clamping) on both the mother and newborn. The secondary outcomes that were followed up were the number of maternal and neonatal readmissions. An appropriate test for significance, Fisher's exact test was used to find the association between risk variables and outcome. Results: The total numbers of mothers enrolled were 1106, of whom 553 mothers received antibiotic prior to skin incision (pre-incision) and 543 mothers received antibiotic after cord clamping (post-incision). The pre-incision group had significantly less febrile illness (RR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.29 -0.80) and SSI (RR = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.04 -0.53) when compared with the post-incision group. The post-incision group significantly had > 7 days hospital stay when compared to the 4-7 days stay of the pre-incision group (p = 0.005). There were no differences in any of the neonatal outcomes. The quantity of the antibiotic in the cord blood was only 2-3%. Conclusions: Pre incision prophylactic antibiotic protected the mother from SSI and febrile illness and decreased the hospital stay significantly.