Abstract
Background : Surgical site infection (SSI) has been reported to develop in many patients who undergo rectal surgery. However, prophylactic procedures, including the treatment duration of intravenous antibiotics, remain to be established. We performed a randomized controlled study to assess the optimal duration of intravenous antibiotics in patients who underwent mechanical bowel preparation and received oral antibiotics therapy on the day before surgery for rectal cancer.
Methods : We enrolled 366 patients with rectal cancer who underwent elective surgery in the hospital. These patients were randomly assigned to two groups ; the group A comprised 177 patients who received intravenous cefmetazole once immediately before surgery and the group B comprised 174 patients who received intravenous cefmetazole twice daily from the day of surgery until the third postoperative day. The primary endpoint was SSI.
Results : In the group A, 17 (9.6%) patients had incisional SSI and 18 (10.2%) had organ/space SSI. In the group B, 12 (6.9%) patients had incisional SSI and 16 (9.2%) had organ/space SSI. The group A was considered non-inferior to the group B regarding incisional SSI and organ/space SSI.
Conclusions : The use of perioperative intravenous antibiotics only on the day of operation is adequate in patients who undergo elective surgery for rectal cancer.
