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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Dec 27, 2017; 9(12): 246-255
Published online Dec 27, 2017. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v9.i12.246
Role of oral antibiotics for prophylaxis against surgical site infections after elective colorectal surgery
Shamir O Cawich, Sachin Teelucksingh, Samara Hassranah, Vijay Naraynsingh
Shamir O Cawich, Sachin Teelucksingh, Samara Hassranah, Vijay Naraynsingh, Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper with conception and design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and final approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Shamir O Cawich, FRCS (Gen Surg), Senior Lecturer, Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. socawich@allpsgroup.com
Telephone: +8-68-6229909
Received: September 5, 2017
Peer-review started: September 5, 2017
First decision: September 26, 2017
Revised: October 28, 2017
Accepted: November 11, 2017
Article in press: December 11, 2017
Published online: December 27, 2017
Processing time: 113 Days and 20.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: The role of oral antibiotics to reduce surgical site infections (SSI) after elective colorectal surgery is not yet settled. The research in this area has been overshadowed by studies examining mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) and intravenous antibiotics. Existing data show that intravenous antibiotics are now considered standardized prophylaxis, and MBP is on the verge of being eliminated altogether. We review the available data evaluating the role of oral antibiotics as prophylaxis for SSI in colorectal surgery.