Mechanical bowel preparation versus no bowel preparation in open colorectal surgery: A prospective study

Abstract

Background: Colorectal surgery has always been a challenge for surgeons due to a large number of bacteria present in this area. Some of these bacteria may cause wound infection, anastomotic leak or frank sepsis. Mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) has been one of the many practices which aim to mitigate these complications. However, the use of MBP has been controversial for sometimes. We performed a prospective study to investigate the outcomes of colorectal surgery with or without MBP. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted in the Department of Surgery, IGMC, Shimla from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 included forty patients admitted in an emergency, or for elective open colorectal surgery. All patients who were scheduled to undergo primary resection and anastomosis of the colon and upper rectum were eligible for inclusion in the study. Results: Complications in the form of surgical site infection, wound hematoma, and enterocutaneous fistula were present in both groups. However the value of P = 0.204 in either group indicated that statistically, there was no difference between results of two groups. The average duration of stay in the no bowel preparation group was 13.42 days, and in the MBP group was 11.5 days. Conclusion: This study suggests that MBP is not necessarily essential for safe colorectal surgery.