Clinical trials of the efficacy and duration of antibacterial cover for elective resection in inflammatory bowel disease

A prospective double-blind placebo controlled trial was performed to test the values of 24-h cover with metronidazole and gentamicin in 57 patients requiring elective resections for inflammatory bowel disease (phase 1). The short term antimicrobial cover was not associated with a reduction in the incidence of postoperative sepsis. A further group of 30 patients who received metronidazole and gentamicin cover for 5 days (phase 2) was therefore studied and the results were compared with phase 1. There was a significant reduction in the incidence of sepsis in the patients receiving 5-day postoperative antibiotic cover compared with the placebo group.