A 4-day course of sulbactam/ampicillin effectively lowers perineal wound infections after abdominoperineal resection for rectal cancer.

• Incidence of perineal wound infection dropped significantly from 46% with cefmetazole to 14% with sulbactam/ampicillin.
• This multicenter trial involved 80 patients, with a focus on surgical site infections and overall complications.

Consider shifting to a 4-day sulbactam/ampicillin regimen to reduce infection rates and enhance patient outcomes post-surgery.