[Prevention of respiratory infection in patients following surgical intervention].

The objective of the present study was to estimate the efficacy of therapy with hexetedine for the prevention of the respiratory infection in the patients undergoing surgical intervention. The study included 64 patients (28 adults and 36 children) ranging in the age from 3 to 55 years who were examined before and after surgery (radiosurgical tonsillectomy and radiosurgical uvulopalatoplasty). Complete clinical examination was supplemented by a microbiological study of cultivated mucosal swab samples obtained from the pharynx before and after the treatment. 41 patients of the study group received hexetedine (hexoral) for the 4 days preceding the operation and during 3 days of the postoperative period. It was shown that the patients treated with hexetedine both in the pre- and postoperative periods experienced a substantial decrease in microbial infestation of pharyngeal mucosa and accelerated elimination of the inflammatory process. Moreover, the general therapeutic effect on day 5 after surgery was more pronounced in the hexetedine-treated patients compared with controls.