Peri-operative infection prophylaxis with ornidazole and gentamicin in elective colonic surgery.

In a study of 60 patients undergoing elective colonic surgery peri-operative infection prophylaxis by the "one-shot' method was compared with that of 48-hour duration. The antibacterial agents used were ornidazole and gentamicin. Considering the patient population as a whole, no significant differences were found in the results. All the infectious complications which occurred post-operatively were due to bacterial contamination by aerobic pathogens. No anaerobic pathogens were detected in any of the cases.