Postoperative complications in equine elective, clean orthopaedic surgery with/without antibiotic prophylaxis

Abstract

Summary Objective: Retrospective analysis of postoperative complications in equines after clean, orthopaedic surgical procedures in order to detect differences between animals treated with antibiotics and horses without receiving these drugs. Material and methods: Details on 652 patients, surgical procedures and surgery-associated complications were compiled from horses being operated between June 2011 and January 2015. Antibiotic-receiving patients (n = 259) were tested for differences in complication rates and characteristics to controls (n = 393). Results: The total complication rate was 39.1 %. Increased swelling was observed most often (25.6 %), followed by exudation (7.5 %), fever without incisional alterations (2.3 %), suture dehiscence (1.8 %), and seroma (0.8 %). Seven patients (five treated, two controls) developed septic arthritis within a total of 463 arthroscopies (1.5 %). There were no significant differences in the development of postoperative complications, which were seen in 97/259 (37.5 %) antibiotic receiving patients and in 158/393 (40.2 %) controls. The application of perioperative antibiotics was significantly influenced by surgeon (p < 0.0001) and type of surgery (p = 0.0007) and increased with the number of surgical lesions (p = 0.03). In patients undergoing tendovaginoscopy/ bursoscopy, fasciotomy and neurectomy (n = 98), antibiotic prophylaxis was initiated less frequently than in other surgeries, e. g. combinations of surgeries, splint bone extraction, tenotomy, and arthroscopy (n = 554). Conclusion: Severe complications in equine clean orthopaedic surgery are rare and complication rates in patients either receiving perioperative antibiotics or not were not significantly different. Clinical relevance: Based on the results the use of antibiotics appears to be non-essential in uncomplicated elective orthopaedic interventions in the horse.