title: Bowel preparation for gynecological surgery.
abstract: Bowel preparation is an established practice before abdominal surgery. Most surgeons would use both antibiotic prophylaxis and mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) before bowel surgery. In the literature, however, there is no evidence to support the use of MBP before elective colorectal surgery. Some randomized studies and a meta-analysis report a significantly higher incidence of wound infection in patients receiving MBP versus no bowel preparation. As to gynecological surgery, data are scanty, and there is a single randomized study reporting no advantage of MBP over no bowel preparation. Based on these evidences, the routine use of MBP should be reconsidered both in general and gynecological surgery.
authors.affiliation: Area di Ginecologia, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Via Emilio Longoni 83, 00155 Rome, Italy. l.muzzi@unicampus.it
authors.forename: Ludovico
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Muzii
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Angioli
authors.forename: Marzio A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zullo
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calcagno
authors.forename: Pierluigi Benedetti
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Panici
mesh_terms: D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis; D003107:Colorectal Surgery / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control