Preoperative and postoperative antibiotic therapy in surgery of the colon

Abstract

1. 1. Four hundred sixty-nine randomly chosen cases involving colotomy, colostomy closure or colonic resection in one stage were studied. 2. 2. Patients in group 1 (306 cases) were mechanically cleansed and also prepared with preoperative antibiotics. 3. 3. Patients in group 2 (163 cases) were mechanically cleansed and treated with postoperative antibiotics only. 4. 4. Results in group 1 were: 6.9 per cent wound infections, 5.6 per cent anastomotic leaks, a hospital stay of 14.3 days and a mortality of 3.6 per cent: 5. 5. Results in group 2 were: 1.8 per cent wound infections, 2.5 per cent anastomotic leaks, a hospital stay of 11.8 days and a mortality of 4.9 per cent.