Effect of prophylactic systemic administration of cephalothin in colorectal surgery.

The effect of standardized prophylactic treatment with systemically administered cephalothin (Keflin) was studied in a series of 120 consecutive patients in whom elective colorectal surgery was planned. The patients were divided by random selection into one treatment group and one control group. The same mechanical cleansing with cathartics and tap water enemas was performed in both groups. The patients in the treatment group received intravenously 2 g cephalothin 2 hours prior to the operation, 2 g during the operation and then 2 g every 6th hour during 4 days. 14 cases were excluded for various reasons. In 19 cases only minor operations were performed, such as laparotomy with or without simultaneous colostomy. The overall frequency of infections was 17.5% in the treatment group and 53.1% in the control group. In the 87 cases undergoing major operations, infections were registered in 17.4% of the treated patients and 58.5% of the control patients. The difference is highly significant (p less than 0.001) in both cases. Escherichia coli was present in about 70% of the infections, often together with other aerobic or anaerobic organisms.