Summary of findings 2. Antibiotics versus no antibiotics for preventing infection after elective cesarean section.
| Antibiotics versus no antibiotics for preventing infection after elective cesarean section | ||||||
| Population: Women undergoing elective cesarean section Settings: Both high‐ and low‐income countries Intervention: Antibiotic prophylaxis | ||||||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | No of Participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Assumed risk | Corresponding risk | |||||
| Control | Antibiotic prophylaxis | |||||
| Maternal wound infection | 68 per 10001 | 42 per 1000 (32 to 56) | RR 0.62 (0.47 to 0.82) | 3537 (17 studies) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ moderate2 | |
| Maternal endometritis | 39 per 10001 | 15 per 1000 (9 to 24) | RR 0.38 (0.24 to 0.61) | 2502 (15 studies) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ moderate2 | |
| Maternal serious infectious complications | 0 per 1000 | 0 per 1000 (0 to 0) | RR 1.01 (0.04 to 24.21) | 545 (4 studies) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ low3 | There was only one adverse event reported. |
| Adverse effects on infant | See comment | See comment | Not estimable | 0 (0) | See comment | Infant outcomes were very infrequently reported |
| *The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: Confidence interval; RR: Risk ratio; | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect. Moderate quality: Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: We are very uncertain about the estimate. | ||||||
1 The study population baseline risk is the mean value in the control groups from all studies that included women undergoing elective cesarean section. 2 In most studies the assessment of bias was judged as unclear. 3 There was only one serious infectious complication reported.