Antimicrobial prophylaxis aim at preventing surgical wound contamination after the exposure to any microorganism and before infection is established. Inhibitory antimicrobial concentrations should be reached and maintained on the incision throughout the entire surgical procedure in order to prevent microbial growth. In veterinary medicine, antimicrobial prophylaxis is clearly disclosure and accepted as an important action to control and reduce the incidence of surgical wound infection. This study evaluated the use of antibiotics in small animals' surgeries at the Veterinary Hospital of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, comparing the need and the reality. The population in study consisted of patients undergoing surgical procedures from May 11 to November 11, 2007. The routine use of antibiotics was not altered in any way for this study. The results showed that it is necessary to establish some criteria for the use of antimicrobials at the Veterinary Hospital of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa as well as the standardization of the same to correct possible failures in the process of surgical site infection.
infection; prophylaxis; surgical wound
