Journal Reviews

What is the evidence for duration of antibiotic prophylaxis in head and neck free-flap cases?

1 May 2018 | | clean-contaminated, free flaps, microvascular surgery, prophylactic antibiotics, surgical site infection

The topic of this systematic review is one which is commonly heard in discussions between microbiologists and head and neck surgeons – what is the evidence for antibiotic prophylaxis in clean-contaminated free-flap cases, and crucially, how long should antibiotics be...

Preoperative planning of the surgical patient

9 October 2017 | | Airway assessment, Medical history, Medication reconciliation, Patient preparation, Perioperative antibiotics, Postoperative analgesia, Postoperative nausea and vomiting, Transference of care

This article covers the need to effectively optimise patient status preoperatively to help maximise postoperative outcomes. The article is well written and emphasises close liaison with anaesthetic colleagues particularly regarding airway assessment and nausea and vomiting. As is becoming common...