The Expected Advantage of Administering Prophylactic Antibiotics Using Target- Concentration Controlled Infusion

Preoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis is a key element for the prevention of surgical site infection, the most common type of nosocomial infection in surgical patients. Prophylactic antibiotics are selected depending on the type of surgery, and first- or second-generation cephalosporins have been mainly used. Cefoxitin, a second-generation cephalosporin with anaerobic activity, has been used in various clinical settings as a prophylactic antibiotic for colorectal surgery. Cefoxitin is generally dissolved in normal saline and intravenously administered for a short time of 5-10 minutes before skin incision. However, there are several drawbacks to the current dosing strategy. First, the dose of cefazolin is determined by a "rule of thumb", and there is controversy over whether 1 g or 2 g is appropriate, with the opinion that 2 g being more appropriate prevailing. Second, the standard administration method unnecessarily induces a concentration higher than the concentration required to prevent surgical site infection. Third, significant covariates that can affect the maintenance of MIC during surgery are not considered. The target-concentration controlled infusion (TCI) method can be a viable alternative administration method for antibiotics. The TCI method enables individual customized administration according to the covariates (i.e., weight, creatinine clearance) included in the pharmacokinetic parameters; also, although with some variability, the drug can be administered while maintaining the target concentration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of administering cefoxitin in patients undergoing colorectal surgery with a syringe pump equipped with a target concentration control injection function