Researching the Effects of Prophylactic Antibiotics in Orthopedic Surgery

Abstract

After shadowing Dr. Minard, an anesthesiologist at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), I was given the contact information for Dr. George McKelvey, a Research Associate at NorthStar Anesthesia. Dr. McKelvey had many current projects, but the most intriguing to me was the effects of prophylactic antibiotics in orthopedic surgery. The project was a retrospective study using the database PubMed. Dr. McKelvey required my assistance conducting literature reviews, analyzing the data from each relevant study, and recording specific data in an Excel form. There were 120 papers to review, 27 of which were deemed relevant for the scope of the study. Most of the studies focused on total knee and hip arthroplasties but expanded to other orthopedic surgeries as well. After the research was conducted no final analysis was necessary, but the use of prophylactic antibiotics was a controversial topic in medicine. Some argue that it was expensive and not necessary, but others revealed that prophylactic antibiotics are promising for the prevention of infection and further intervention. I value the experiences and opportunities Dr. McKelvey and this project have provided me with. I found my research skills have become highly developed through this project as well as my ability to self-manage and analyze scientific information.