Summary of included studies: locations, funding, antibiotic treatments and surgical characteristics
| Study | Country | Funding | Follow- up | Oral antibiotics | IV antibiotics | Mechanical bowel preparation | Surgery indication | Resection type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anjum et al. (16) | China | National Natural Science Foundation of China | 90 d | Metronidazole 400 mg and levofloxacin 200 mg × 3 (3 pm, 7 pm and 11:30 pm) on the day before surgery | Second-generation cephalosporin and metronidazole, 30–60 min before surgery and repeated every 3 h during surgery; antibiotics continued 24 h after surgery | Sodium phosphate 133 mL BID on the day before surgery | GI tract fistula, abdominal adhesions, iatrogenic injury, IBD, trauma, malignancy | 40 laparoscopic, 150 open |
| Basany et al. (27) | Spain | Fundación Asociación Española de Colo- proctología | 4 wk | Metronidazole 250 mg × 3 (12 pm, 6 pm and 12 am), ciprofloxacin 750 mg × 2 (12 pm and 12 am) on the day before surgery | Cefuroxime 1.5 g and metronidazole 1 g at anesthetic induction | None | Malignancy, diverticular disease | 415 laparoscopic, 77 open, 45 conversions |
| Taylor and Lindsay (25) | Scotland | Lederle Laboratories* | 6 wk | Ciprofloxacin 500 mg BID on the day before surgery | One dose of piperacillin 4 g IV anesthetic induction | Sodium picosulfate, 1 sachet BID, on the day before surgery | Malignancy, IBD, benign conditions | 381 open, 0 laparoscopic |
BID = twice daily; GI = gastrointestinal; IBD = inflammatory bowel disease; IV = intravenous.
↵* Pharmaceutical company.