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ARLEN D. MEYERS, MD, MBA
Denver, Colo

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1990;116(10):1125-1126.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The use of prophylactic antibiotics in nasal surgery has increased despite the fact that there is little scientific justification for their use. Of 400 American otolaryngologists responding to a questionnaire in 1971, 43% reported that they used preventive antibiotics in their nasal and sinus surgery.¹ In 1974, 25% of cosmetic surgeons polled used prophylactic antibiotics in nasal surgery.² In 1980, Jacobson and Kasworm³ reported the increasing use of antibiotics following the description of toxic shock syndrome following nasal surgery.

RATIONALE

The nasal bacterial flora consists mainly of diphtheroids, coagulase-negative cocci, and enterobacteria. Almost half of the patients who undergo septoplasty or rhinoplasty will also have coagulase-positive Staphylococcus residing in their nasal cavity.⁴

There are many reasons why surgeons recommend antibiotics:⁵

1. A postoperative infection is so devastating that if just one infection is prevented, it is worth it from a cost, medicolegal, and outcome viewpoint.
   

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