PERIOPERATIVE USE OF AMPICILLIN-SULBACTAM, CEFOXITIN AND PIPERACILLINMETRONIDAZOLE IN ELECTIVE COLON AND RECTUM SURGERY - A PROSPECTIVE AND RANDOMIZED QUALITY-CONTROL STUDY IN 422 PATIENTS (REPRINTED FROM CHIRURG, VOL 64, PG 649-652, 1993)

As previous work has shown, antibiotic prophylaxis is highly effective in lowering wound infection rates in colorectal surgery. In order to establish quality control, the authors investigated the effectiveness of three different prophylactic antibiotic regimes in 422 patients in a prospective and randomized trial. There were no significant differen ces between the three groups with regard to age, type of operation and risk factors like adipositas and diabetes. The wound infection rate a ccording to the Centers for Disease Control criteria ranged from 7.0% to 9.5%. No significant difference was found between the three antibio tic regimes. It can be concluded, therefore, that under the conditions used in this study each of the three different types of antibiotics i s of equal value, hence, the cheapest one can be used.