Researchers conducted a small clinical trial to see if giving the antibiotic metronidazole by mouth (orally) was as effective at reaching surgical tissues as giving it through an IV (intravenously). The study involved 18 patients who were having a specific type of reconstructive surgery after oral cancer removal. They measured the concentration of the drug in different tissues at the surgical site.
The main finding was that there was no significant difference in the amount of drug that reached the tissues between the oral and IV groups. For certain levels of bacterial resistance, both methods achieved a target drug concentration thought to be effective. However, for a higher level of resistance, neither method reached that target.
No safety issues or side effects were reported in the study, but the small number of patients means these results are very preliminary. This study only looked at drug levels in tissue, not at whether patients actually had fewer surgical site infections. More research with many more patients is needed to know if taking the antibiotic by mouth is just as safe and effective for preventing infections after this type of surgery.