Abstract:Objective To explore the effect of early prophylactic antibiotics in cirrhosis patients with gastroesophageal variceal bleeding. Methods A total of 120 cirrhosis patients with gastroesophageal variceal bleeding were randomly assigned to antibiotic prophylaxis group (n = 60) and control group ( n= 60), and all of them were provided with routine treatment including inhibition of acid, hemostasis, reduction of portal pressure and blood transfusion. Patients were received intravenous infusion of Cefotaxime Sodium (2.0 g, Bid, 7 days) in the antibiotic prophylaxis group. The incidence of re -bleeding, mortality and nosocomial infections were analysed between the two groups. Results There were statistical differences (P < 0.05) between the antibiotic prophylaxis group and the control group in the incidence of rebleeding (8.90% / 23.1%), mortality (5.4% /17.3%) and the incidence of nosocomial infections (17.9% / 53.8%). Conclusions Prophylactic antibiotics can decrease incidence of re-bleeding, mortality and nosocomial infections of cirrhosis patients with gastroesophageal variceal bleeding to improve their quality of life.