Single-Versus Multiple-dose Antimicrobial Prophylaxis for Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy in Achalasia

POEM is a novel minimally invasive treatment for achalasia, which emerged as an offshoot of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES). Major adverse events during POEM are rare and therefore, the procedure is considered safe. Bacteremia can occur after endoscopic procedures like esophageal dilation, sclerotherapy of varices, and instrumentation of obstructed bile ducts. Bacteremia has been advocated as a surrogate marker for risk of infection-related complications. In POEM procedure, the endoscopist works in close proximity to mediastinum and peritoneal cavity. Therefore, the potential for infection-related complications is high. However, despite of different antibiotic protocols at different centers, the reported incidence of infection-related complications is very low. At present, prophylactic antibiotics are universally initiated before starting the POEM procedure and continued for a variable duration after POEM ranging from 1 day to 7 days. Data from surgical studies indicate that prolonged administration of antibiotics for longer than 24 hours may not be beneficial. Prolonged use of antibiotics not only increases the costs and exposure to drug toxicity directly but also may be associated with an increased risk of acquired antibiotic resistance as well as infection with Clostridium difficile. With this background, we planned a study to evaluate the difference in the infectious complications between short vs long duration antibiotic in patients with achalasia undergoing POEM.