“COMPARISON OF SINGLE VS. MULTIPLE DOSES OF AMOXICILLIN/CLAVULANIC ACID FOR ANTIMICROBIAL PROPHYLAXIS IN CAESAREAN SECTION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL AT FEDERAL TEACHING HOSPITAL, GOMBE, NIGERIA”

Objective: To compare the efficacy of single dose antimicrobial prophylaxis with multiple doses for caesarean section at Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe. Design: Parallel arm randomized controlled trial (1:1 allocation) comparing single and multiple dose antimicrobial prophylaxis for caesarean section. Setting: Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, Nigeria. Population 176 women undergoing elective and emergency caesarean sections. Methods: Participants were randomized into two groups: single dose of intravenous Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid before skin incision only (Group A) and multiple doses including postoperative doses (Group B). Main Outcome Measures Surgical site infection rate during a 30-day surveillance period. Results: The surgical site infection rate was 2.3% in Group A and 0.0% in Group B (p = 0.058). Febrile morbidity was 1.2% and 2.3% respectively (p = 0.509). Urinary tract infection occurred in one patient in Group A (p = 0.494). Conclusions: Single dose antimicrobial prophylaxis for caesarean section is as effective as multiple doses in preventing surgical site infection. This trial was registered in the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry ([www.pactr.org](http://www.pactr.org) ) database with unique identification number PACTR202009483150226.