A multicenter study to compare cefotetan alone with cefotetan and metronidazole as prophylaxis against infection in elective colorectal operations.

The role of antibiotic prophylaxis in operations upon the colon and rectum is now well recognized. In this study, the efficacy of cefotetan, a broad spectrum cephamycin antibiotic, given alone (n = 315), is compared with that of the combination of cefotetan and metronidazole (n = 300). The groups were well matched for age, sex, pathologic features and operations performed. There was no statistical difference in the incidence of operation-related infection between the two groups. We conclude that cefotetan given alone is as effective as the combination of cefotetan and metronidazole for prophylaxis against operation-related infection in elective colorectal operations.