Are prophylactic antibiotics necessary prior to transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with native biliary anatomy?

Prophylactic antibiotics are frequently administered for transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In patients without previous biliary instrumentation, infection risk from TACE is low. We hypothesized that there is a negligible rate of infection in these patients without prophylactic antibiotics.