[Prevention of infections in surgery of the colon].

The value of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis in colorectal surgery is undisputed, since for the first time the rate of wound healing disorders could be reduced from 30 to 50% previously to less than 10%. In 3 prospectively randomized studies different kinds of prophylaxis were tested: short-time prophylaxis over 48 hours, ultra-short time prophylaxis over 24 hours, "one-shot" administration during surgery. The effective spectrum of the used cephalosporines should affect aerobic as well as anaerobic pathogens, as septic complications are caused by intraoperative bacterial dissemination.