Are there any specific best practices or guidelines to follow when using prepared statements in PHP for improved security and performance?

When using prepared statements in PHP, it is important to properly sanitize user input to prevent SQL injection attacks. Additionally, using bound parameters can improve performance by allowing the database to reuse query plans. It is also recommended to close the prepared statement after executing the query to free up resources.

// Example of using prepared statements in PHP for improved security and performance

// Establish a database connection
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');

// Prepare a SQL statement with placeholders
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username');

// Bind parameters to placeholders
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username, PDO::PARAM_STR);

// Sanitize user input
$username = filter_var($_POST['username'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);

// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();

// Close the prepared statement
$stmt->closeCursor();