¿Está indicada la prescripción de antibióticos en la extracción del tercer molar retenido?: Estudio comparativo entre patrones de prescripción

Objective. To assess whether there is a significant differ­ence in infection rate after surgery tooth extraction in two dif­ferent hospitals from Norway and Spain where different surgi­cal antimicrobial prophylaxis protocols are applied. Methods. An analytical observational study was con­ducted, retrospective cohorts type, analyzing healthy patients with no risk factors, who were third molar tooth operated in maxillofacial services of two different hospitals: St. Olav in Trondheim (Norway) and Clinico San Carlos in Madrid (Spain). The collected variables were: age, number of tooth removed, anesthesia type, and observations about the course of the op­eration registered in the clinical history. To assess the develop­ment of postoperative infection, patient’s data of those who chose the hospital as the place to remove the suture thread were collected in Norway, whereas in Spain a telephone sur­vey was conducted to determine the course of the operation months later. Results. In St. Olav Hospital 11.1% of patients operated received antibiotic regimen after surgery, while in Hospital San Carlos were 100%. The infection rate was 15% in St.Olav Hos­pital and 7.5% in Hospital San Carlos. These differences were no statistically significant. Conclusions. The routine administration of antibiotics to healthy patients with no risk factors undergoing impact­ed third molar surgical removal is a common clinical practice which it does not seem to be justified.