What do systematic reviews say?

Antibiotics vs placebo

Antibiotics showed no clear difference in all‐cause mortality ‐ inpatients compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotics for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  OR 2.48 [0.94, 6.55]
  2 studies · 214 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs placebo

Antibiotics probably leads to lower all‐cause mortality ‐ ICU patients compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotics for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  OR 0.21 [0.06, 0.72]
  1 study · 93 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs placebo overall

Antibiotics showed no clear difference in adverse events ‐ diarrhoea compared with placebo overall (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotics for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  OR 1.68 [0.92, 3.07]
  5 studies · 1099 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs no treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in kidney transplant recipients 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  Studies not reported
  No studies found

Antibiotics vs no treatment

Antibiotics showed no clear difference in symptomatic UTI compared with no treatment (low certainty).

• Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in kidney transplant recipients 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.86 [0.51, 1.45]
  2 studies · 200 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs no treatment

Antibiotics showed no clear difference in antimicrobial resistance compared with no treatment (low certainty).

• Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in kidney transplant recipients 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 1.21 [0.6, 2.41]
  1 study · 112 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs no treatment

Antibiotics showed no clear difference in all‐cause mortality compared with no treatment (low certainty).

• Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in kidney transplant recipients 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 2.23 [0.21, 23.86]
  1 study · 112 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs no treatment

Antibiotics showed no clear difference in graft loss compared with no treatment (low certainty).

• Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in kidney transplant recipients 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 1.11 [0.07, 17.36]
  1 study · 112 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs no treatment

Antibiotics showed no clear difference in acute graft rejection compared with no treatment (low certainty).

• Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in kidney transplant recipients 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.93 [0.44, 1.97]
  1 study · 112 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs no treatment

Antibiotics showed no clear difference in hospitalisation for UTI compared with no treatment (low certainty).

• Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in kidney transplant recipients 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.74 [0.13, 4.27]
  1 study · 112 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs no treatment

• Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in kidney transplant recipients 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  2 studies · 200 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs placebo

Antibiotics may leads to lower total postoperative infections ‐ early and late compared with placebo (low certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.28 [0.19, 0.4]
  4 studies · 293 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs placebo

Antibiotics probably leads to lower pelvic infection compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.5 [0.35, 0.71]
  11 studies · 1883 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs placebo

It is very uncertain whether antibiotics changes other serious infections compared with placebo (very low certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.44 [0.12, 1.69]
  2 studies · 476 participants
  Very low

Antibiotics vs placebo

Antibiotics probably leads to lower postoperative fever compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.59 [0.5, 0.7]
  11 studies · 2394 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs placebo

It is very uncertain whether antibiotics changes total adverse effects compared with placebo (very low certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 1.8 [0.62, 5.18]
  2 studies · 430 participants
  Very low

Antibiotics vs placebo

Antibiotics probably leads to lower urinary tract infection compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.58 [0.43, 0.77]
  8 studies · 1473 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs placebo

Antibiotics probably leads to lower pelvic infection compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.28 [0.2, 0.39]
  11 studies · 1693 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs placebo

It is very uncertain whether antibiotics changes other serious infections compared with placebo (very low certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.2 [0.01, 4.1]
  1 study · 146 participants
  Very low

Antibiotics vs placebo

Antibiotics probably leads to lower postoperative fever compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.43 [0.34, 0.54]
  9 studies · 1562 participants
  Moderate