Single-dose versus short-course prophylactic antibiotics for peroral endoscopic myotomy: a randomized controlled trial

Background and Aims: Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has been recommended for achalasia treatment. To prevent the potential of infective risk, antibiotic prophylaxis is usually administered, whereas the additional need of antibiotic therapy after POEM is uncertain. The primary endpoint was to determine whether prophylaxis versus prophylaxis plus short therapy was needed after POEM.Methods: Consecutive patients scheduled for POEM were randomly assigned (1:1) to group A (prophylactic cefazolin 2 g IV) or group B (prophylaxis thorn cefazolin 2 g IV x 3 followed by oral amoxicillin/clavulanate 3 g/day). Infective risk was assessed by means of host response, namely body temperature and serum levels of white blood cells and C-reactive protein; immune response (the cytokines interleukin [IL]-6, IL-1 beta, and tumor necrosis factora and microbial translocation mediators lipopolysaccharide binding protein and soluble CD14); and blood cultures at time points before (t0) and after (t1, t2) POEM.Results: After POEM, none of the 124 enrolled patients (54.6 +/- 12.6 years old; 64 men) developed any fever (body temperature: t0, 36.56 +/-.49 degrees C; t1, 36.53 +/-.52 degrees C; t2, 36.48 +/-.41 degrees C), without any differences between groups at any time point. Regarding systemic inflammation, no difference was reported between groups in serum levels of C-reactive protein and white blood cells. Considering microbial translocation mediated response, lipopolysaccharide binding protein (group A: t0, 1539 +/- 168.6 pg/mL; t1, 1321 +/- 149.1 pg/mL; t2, 2492 +/- 283.2 pg/mL; group B: t0, 1318 +/- 115.9 pg/mL; t1, 1492 +/- 163.8 pg/mL; t2, 2600 +/- 328.2 pg/mL) and soluble CD14 (group A: t0, 2.16 +/- .15 mg/mL; t1, 1.89 +/- .15 mu g/mL; t2, 2.2 +/- .15 mu g/mL; group B: t0, 2.1 +/- .13 mu g/mL; t1, 2 +/- .13 mu g/mL; t2, 2.5 +/- .2 mu g/mL) were similar between the 2 groups; the immune response cytokines IL-6, IL-1 beta, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha also were similar in the 2 groups. In relation to blood cultures, at t1 the group B bacteremia rate was 3.2% (2/62) and group A was 1.6% (1/62) with no difference (P = .6). All subsequent blood cultures were negative at t2.Conclusions: According to our study, postprophylactic short-term antimicrobial therapy after POEM is not required because of a very low residual infective risk.