Levamisole and postoperative complications: a controlled clinical trial

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Surgical Infections
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Cell-mediated immunity plays a role in surgical outcomes.
• Assessing immune status preoperatively can inform patient management.
• Postoperative infective complications are a significant concern in major surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between cell-mediated immunity and postoperative infective complications.
• To evaluate the efficacy of levamisole in preventing these complications.

Main Methods:

• 166 patients undergoing major laparotomies were studied.
• Cell-mediated immunity was assessed using preoperative skin reactions to recall antigens.
• Patients received either levamisole (150 mg) or placebo for 3 days, starting on the day of operation.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in postoperative deaths or infective complications was observed between the levamisole and placebo groups.
• The degree of preoperative anergy did not correlate with significant differences in outcomes.
• The levamisole group showed a statistically significant reduction in postoperative pyrexia compared to the control group.

Conclusions:

• Levamisole administration did not impact postoperative infective complications or mortality in this patient cohort.
• Levamisole may have a beneficial effect on reducing postoperative fever following major abdominal surgery.