[Infection following surgery of the gastrointestinal tract in newborn infants].

In a retrospective study we examined the postoperative course of 642 children who had been operated on during the newborn period. 247 of them had been operated on for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. 27.5% of these developed septicaemia: We showed that the frequency of sepsis could be reduced by perioperative antibiotic cover in all diseases with the exception of necrotising enterocolitis where antibiotic treatment was performed. Septicaemic courses were most frequent in premature infants and in those with necrotising enterocolitis. These results will be examined further in a subsequent prospective study.