Study objective: Fingertip injuries are common in the pediatric population. Considerable controversy exists about whether prophylactic antibiotics are necessary after repair of such injuries. Our goals were to estimate the rate of bacterial infection among pediatric patients with distal fingertip injuries overall and to compare the rate of bacterial infections among subgroups treated with and without prophylactic antibiotics.

Methods: This was prospective randomized control study of pediatric patients presenting to an urban children’s hospital with trauma to the distal fingertip requiring repair. Patients were randomized to two groups: those receiving prophylactic antibiotics (Cephalexin) and those who did not receive antibiotic therapy. Repairs were performed in a standardized fashion and all patients were re-evaluated in the same emergency department in 48 hours and by phone 7 days later. The primary outcome of this study was the incidence of infection.