What do systematic reviews say?

Single‐dose antibiotic vs 24 hours of antibiotics

• Prophylactic antibiotics for penetrating abdominal trauma: duration of use and antibiotic choice 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  1 study · 360 participants
  Very low

More than 24 hours of antibiotics vs 24 hours of antibiotics

It is very uncertain whether more than 24 hours of antibiotics changes mortality compared with 24 hours of antibiotics (very low certainty).

• Prophylactic antibiotics for penetrating abdominal trauma: duration of use and antibiotic choice 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  OR 1.67 [0.73, 3.82]
  7 studies · 1261 participants
  Very low

Continuous vs Intermittent Antibiotic Infusions

Continuous showed no clear difference in all‐cause mortality compared with intermittent Antibiotic Infusions (moderate certainty).

• Continuous versus intermittent infusions of antibiotics for the treatment of severe acute infections 2013 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0.89 [0.67, 1.2]
  19 studies · 1241 participants
  Moderate

Anaerobic coverage only vs gram‐positive and gram‐negative coverage

• Prophylactic antibiotics for penetrating abdominal trauma: duration of use and antibiotic choice 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  2 studies · 160 participants
  Very low

Anaerobic coverage only vs gram‐negative and anaerobic coverage

• Prophylactic antibiotics for penetrating abdominal trauma: duration of use and antibiotic choice 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  2 studies · 417 participants
  Very low

Gram‐negative and anaerobic coverage vs gram‐positive, gram‐negative, and anaerobic coverage

• Prophylactic antibiotics for penetrating abdominal trauma: duration of use and antibiotic choice 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  3 studies · 177 participants
  Very low

Gram‐positive and gram‐negative coverage vs gram‐negative and anaerobic coverage

It is very uncertain whether gram‐positive and gram‐negative coverage changes mortality compared with gram‐negative and anaerobic coverage (very low certainty).

• Prophylactic antibiotics for penetrating abdominal trauma: duration of use and antibiotic choice 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  OR 0.55 [0.11, 2.77]
  3 studies · 555 participants
  Very low

Anaerobic coverage only vs gram‐positive, gram‐negative, and anaerobic coverage

• Prophylactic antibiotics for penetrating abdominal trauma: duration of use and antibiotic choice 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  3 studies · 309 participants
  Very low