An Open-Label Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of Mechanical Bowel Preparation vs Nonmechanical Bowel...

Over the last two decades, preoperative mechanical bowel preparation for elective colorectal surgery has been criticized. Yet, many surgeons are still in favor of its use simply because of the belief that it achieves better clearance of the colonic fecal load. The objective of this study is to compare the outcome with regard to patient compliance and postoperative complications following elective colorectal surgery between two groups of patients, one with bowel prepared mechanically and the other by nonmechanical means. This open-label prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted in a high-volume tertiary government referral hospital of Kolkata over a period of 3 years. It included 71 patients, divided into two groups, admitted for elective colorectal resection procedures in one surgical unit. Both methods of bowel preparation were equally well tolerated, and there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications or mortality between the two groups.