Prophylactic single-dose administration of 600 mg clindamycin versus 4-time administration of 600 mg clindamycin in orthognathic surgery: A prospective randomized study in bilateral mandibular sagittal ramus osteotomies

Objective. The purpose of this study was to compare a single 600-mg dose of preoperative intravenously administered clindamycin with a 24-hour 600-mg regimen of clindamycin as prophylaxis for postoperative infections in bilateral sagittal ramus osteotomies. Study design. Seventy patients were assigned at random to an antibiotic protocol. Postoperative infection was assessed by one clinician blinded to the protocol. All data were tabulated, and a statistical analysis was performed by means of the paired t test. Results. In 3 patients, an infection developed. Two of those patients belonged to the single-dose clindamycin group and the other to the 24-hour clindamycin prophylaxis group. The sutures were removed, and wound exudate specimens were obtained for Gram staining and culture. After a 5-day period of 500 mg amoxicillin 4 times daily, the parameters of infection normalized. Conclusions. There were no statistically significant differences between postoperative infection after the single dose of clindamycin and infection in the 24-hour prophylaxis group (P = .3244).