[Pre-operative preparation of the colon: a controlled prospective multicentre study in 215 patients (author's...

Three procedures for pre-operative preparation of the colon were compared during a controlled multicentre study in 215 patients. Though mechanical irrigation with a 10 p. cent mannitol solution is definitely superior as far as the degree of intestinal emptying obtained, no significant difference was noted in the frequency or severity os postoperative infections after conventional preparations by digestive tract irrigation with or without intestinal antibiotics. This method is limited by its tolerance (67 p. cent), its advantages are its rapidity and cost, elective indications being ascending colon lesions with little or no stenosis in young subjects. In other circumstances it has to be compared with the conventional methods of preparation, which should still be employed before operation in subjects who are elderly and/or have moderate to severe stenosis. The addition of antibiotics (neomycin, metronidazole by mouth) reduces the incidence of postoperative sepsis to a marked but non-significant degree, independently of the lesion (cancer, sigmoiditis) and its site. A recent study by F. Lazorthes has led him to prefer an association of antibiotics active against aerobic and anaerobic flora: orally preoperatively, and systemically during surgery.