Effect of antibiotics as an adjuvant to subgingival instrumentation on systemic inflammation in patients with periodontitis: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect on systemic inflammation of subgingival instrumentation (SI) with or without antibiotics. Moreover, systemic parameters were compared between periodontally healthy (PH) individuals and periodontitis patients. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Patients with generalized periodontitis: stage III and PH individuals were recruited. Forty eight periodontitis patients were randomly allocated to each treatment group; systemic antibiotics for seven days after completion of SI (AB group), or SI alone (SI group). Periodontal parameters, serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and hematological parameters were assessed at baseline and at week 8. Multivariate analysis was applied to analyze predictive effect of treatment allocated and improvement in periodontal parameters on change in systemic parameters. RESULTS: At baseline, hsCRP, total leukocyte count (TLC), neutrophil, and monocyte count were significantly higher in periodontitis patients. There was comparable reduction in neutrophil count in both treatment groups. At week 8, change in periodontal parameters was similar in treatment groups, except for probing pocket depth (PPD). Improvement in both PPD and clinical attachment level (CAL) and CAL alone was predictive of change in TLC and lymphocyte count, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study failed to demonstrate the significant benefit of systemic antibiotics as an adjuvant to SI on improvement in periodontal inflammation and systemic inflammatory parameters, despite significantly higher reduction in PPDs.