[Decontamination in colorectal surgery]

The results of perioperative decontamination in a series of 136 patients presenting diseases of the colon and rectum are evaluated. Of the total 74 are subjected to operation according to schedule, and 62 are operated on an emergency basis. Perioperatively, metronidazole plus a cephalosporin antibiotic (cephazolin, cephalothin or cephamandol) are administered. Primary anastomoses are done in 32 cases operated according to schedule, and in fourteen patients operated in the emergency room. Insufficiency of the anastomosis is recorded in 3.5 per cent in the former group, and in 15 per cent in the latter group (p > 0.05). Operative wound suppuration occurs in 5.4 per cent against 13 per cent (p > 0.05), with lethality amounting to 1.3 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively (p < 0.001). Postoperative pneumonia is registered in 4 per cent of those operated on schedule and in 9.6 per cent of those operated by urgency (p > 0.05). In either group there is not a single case of operative wound dehiscence. In colorectal operations antibacterial prophylaxis applied perioperatively proves effective in combating systemic and local inflammatory complications.