This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (64)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Robert E. Condon, MD, MS; John G. Bartlett, MD; Herbert Greenlee, MD; William J. Schulte, MD; Shigeru Ochi, PhD; CAPT Robert Abbe, MC, USN; Joseph A. Caruana, MD; H. Earl Gordon, MD; J. Shelton Horsley, MD; George Irvin, III, MD; Willard Johnson, MD; Paul Jordan, Jr, MD; W. Ford Keitzer, MD; Robert Lempke, MD; Raymond C. Read, MD; William Schumer, MD; Michael Schwartz, MD; F. Kristian Storm, MD; R. Mark Vetto, MD

Arch Surg. 1983;118(4):496-502.

Abstract
• A cooperative Veterans Administration study of the septic complication rate during large-bowel surgery was undertaken in two groups of patients. The first group received oral neomycin and erythromycin base plus parenteral placebo; the second, the oral antibiotics plus parenteral cephalothin sodium. During a five-year period, 1,128 patients were studied. The overall septic complication rate was 7.8% in patients receiving only oral antibiotics, and 5.7% in patients receiving both oral and parenteral antibiotics. This difference was not significant. The only significant finding was a greater incidence of fever of unknown origin in patients receiving only oral antibiotics. None of those patients were treated with additional antibiotics, and all fevers cleared spontaneously. There seems to be no discernible benefit from adding parenteral antibiotic prophylaxis when performing elective colon surgery if appropriate mechanical cleansing and oral neomycin and erthromycin therapy are employed.

(Arch Surg 1983;118:496-502)

Author Affiliations
From the Surgical and Research Services, Veterans Administration Medical Centers, Wood, Wis (Drs Condon and Schulte), Hines, Ill (Dr Greenlee), Buffalo (Dr Caruana), Los Angeles (Dr Gordon), Richmond, Va (Dr Horsley), Miami (Dr Irvin), Boston (Dr Johnson), Houston (Dr Jordan), Dallas (Dr Keitzer), Indianapolis (Dr Lempke), Little Rock, Ark (Dr Read), North Chicago, Ill (Dr Schumer), Minneapolis (Dr Schwartz), Sepulveda, Calif (Dr Storm), and Portland, Ore (Dr Vetto); the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore (Dr Bartlett); the Cooperative Studies Coordinating Center, Hines (Dr Ochi); and the Surgical Service, US Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, Ill (Dr Abbe).

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Dec 9, 1982.

Read before the Sixth Annual Surgical Symposium of the Association of Veterans Administration Surgeons, Atlanta, May 13, 1982.

Reprint requests to Surgical Service (112) Veterans Administration Medical Center, Wood, WI 53193 (Dr Condon).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Antimicrobial Prophylaxis for Surgical Wounds: Guidelines for Clinical Care
Page et al.
Arch Surg 1993;128:79-88.
ABSTRACT  

The Efficacy of Oral Antimicrobials in Reducing Aerobic and Anaerobic Colonic Mucosal Flora
Groner et al.
Arch Surg 1989;124:281-284.
ABSTRACT  

Nosocomial Abscess: Results of an Eight-Year Prospective Study of 32284 Operations
Olson and Allen
Arch Surg 1989;124:356-361.
ABSTRACT  

A New Bowel Preparation for Elective Colon and Rectal Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized Clinical Trial
Wolff et al.
Arch Surg 1988;123:895-900.
ABSTRACT  

Colostomy Wound Closure
Berne et al.
Arch Surg 1985;120:957-959.
ABSTRACT