What do systematic reviews say?

Antibiotics vs no antibiotics

Antibiotics probably leads to lower maternal wound infection compared with no antibiotics (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis for preventing infection after cesarean section 2014 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.4 [0.35, 0.46]
  82 studies · 14407 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs no antibiotics

Antibiotics probably leads to lower maternal endometritis compared with no antibiotics (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis for preventing infection after cesarean section 2014 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.38 [0.34, 0.42]
  83 studies · 13548 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs no antibiotics

Antibiotics probably leads to lower maternal serious infectious complications compared with no antibiotics (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis for preventing infection after cesarean section 2014 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.31 [0.2, 0.49]
  32 studies · 6159 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs no antibiotics

• Antibiotic prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis for preventing infection after cesarean section 2014 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies · 0 participants
  GRADE not reported

Antibiotics vs no antibiotics

Antibiotics probably leads to lower maternal wound infection compared with no antibiotics (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis for preventing infection after cesarean section 2014 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.62 [0.47, 0.82]
  17 studies · 3537 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs no antibiotics

Antibiotics probably leads to lower maternal endometritis compared with no antibiotics (moderate certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis for preventing infection after cesarean section 2014 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.38 [0.24, 0.61]
  15 studies · 2502 participants
  Moderate

Antibiotics vs no antibiotics

Antibiotics showed no clear difference in maternal serious infectious complications compared with no antibiotics (low certainty).

• Antibiotic prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis for preventing infection after cesarean section 2014 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 1.01 [0.04, 24.21]
  4 studies · 545 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs no antibiotics

• Antibiotic prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis for preventing infection after cesarean section 2014 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies · 0 participants
  GRADE not reported

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

Antibiotics vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  Studies not reported
  No studies found

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 0.38 [0.21, 0.67]
  1 study · 158 participants
  Low

Antibiotics vs placebo

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

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for elective hysterectomy 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.51 [0.36, 0.73]
  11 studies · 2247 participants
  Moderate