Effect of preoperative oral administration of oxytetracycline and neomycin on postoperative infectious complications in cases of cancer coli-recti.

A prospective randomized study on the effects of Enterobiotic (oxytetracycline + neomycin) given per os to patients operated upon electively and curatively for carcinoma coli and recti is presented. 75 patients were treated and 66 were controls. A highly significant reduction of peroperative total and Gram-negative bacterial growth from the bowel was registered and a probably significant reduction of anaerobic bacterial growth. In the whole material a highly significant lower incidence of wound sepsis and intra-abdominal infectious complications occurred in the treated group, compared with the control group. This applies also to the resection material, while the difference is of probable significance in the excision group. 13 of 66 patients died, 8 of septic complications, all in the non-treated group. There was no mortality in the pretreated group. The difference between the noninfected and the infected patient groups was significant as regards the preoperative intraluminal total growth of bacteria and the growth of Gram-negative bacteria. The subsequent non-infected patients show a significantly increased number of cultures not showing any growth of bacteria. No negative side effects of Enterobiotic therapy were noted.