A single dose tinidazole and doxycycline prophylaxis in elective surgery of colon and rectum. A prospective controlled clinical multicenter study.

Antimicrobial prophylaxis with agents active against aerobic and anaerobic micro-organisms leads to a significant reduction of infectious complications following colorectal surgery. A single dose (1600 mg) of tinidazole (a nitroimidazole derivate) and doxycycline (400 mg) will provide serum and tissue values well above minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for more than 24 hours. To reduce the unwanted side effects and cost of prolonged antimicrobial prophylaxis, a prospective controlled clinical multicenter study comparing the effect of a single dose before operation of tinidazole and doxycycline to five days of prophylaxis before operation in 234 patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery was undertaken. Six patients given a single dose of prophylaxis before operation (n = 118) developed infectious complication (5.1%). Prolongation of prophylaxis before operation for four days after operation (n = 116) did not lead to any further reduction of infectious complications. A single dose of tinidazole and doxycycline before operation is a simple and effective prophylaxis against infectious complications following elective colorectal surgery.