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Bowel Preparation

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Surgical Management of Anorectal and Colonic Diseases

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Abstract

Colorectal operations have been recognized for a long time as carrying a high risk of postoperative infection. In 1969 and 1973, for example, Everett et al. [15] and Burton [6] reported a wound infection rate of 58% and 61 %, respectively. Since then, the incidence of this complication has decreased sharply and now averages 5%–20% [12, 21, 23, 24]. However, these infections remain a cause of concern in our cost-containment environment, as they may prolong hospitalization by 5–20 days [5, 17]. The purpose of this chapter is therefore to review the factors in bowel preparation that improve postoperative infection scores, thus enabling the practicing surgeon to offer the best possible anti-infection prophylaxis to his or her patient. The following topics will be considered: nonspecific measures, mechanical bowel cleansing, and antibiotic prophylaxis.

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Authors
  1. F. Mosimann
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Départment de Chirurgie, Policlinique de Chirurgie, Hôpital Cantonal, Rue Micheli-du-Crest 24, CH-1211, Genève 4, Switzerland

    Marc-Claude Marti

  2. Service de Chirurgie A, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CH-1011, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Jean-Claude Givel

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© 1998 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Mosimann, F. (1998). Bowel Preparation. In: Marti, MC., Givel, JC. (eds) Surgical Management of Anorectal and Colonic Diseases. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-10169-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-10169-8_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-10171-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-10169-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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