A study in Brazil indicates that surgical patients can be given a pre-surgery prophylactic single dose of antibiotics (with nothing further after surgery) and come out just as good as those who receive more extensive–and more expensive–post-surgery treatments.

You know, I’ve know about this pre-procedure stuff for a while because I’ve had to do it for dental work for a few years. And of course, being from the old school where you were told in no uncertain terms you had to take a FULL 5 days or 10 days of any antibiotic, I was always nervous about this one-dose thing. However, this study looks pretty strong. Hospitals can save around $2000 on medication for each surgery by using this approach.

Holy mackerel. Let’s do more research like this.