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Bowel Preparation: Always, Sometimes, Never?

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Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

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Abstract

The administration of bowel preparation prior to elective colorectal resection is contentious. There is dogma and strongly held opinion both for and against. At present there is a cultural divide between the USA and many countries in Europe, particularly regarding guidelines and recommendations in this area. This chapter tries to address the evidence that exists with regard to benefits or otherwise of mechanical bowel prep in different circumstances and in the context of ERAS.

Current evidence suggests that mechanical bowel preparation is ineffectual, particularly in terms of surgical site infection. There is, however, active debate regarding the benefit of mechanical bowel preparation with simultaneous oral antibiotics, or oral antibiotics alone.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Minimal Access Therapy Training Unit (MATTU), Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust, Guildford, Surrey, UK

    Timothy A. Rockall & Rishabh Singh

  2. Department of Colorectal Surgery, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust, Guildford, Surrey, UK

    Timothy A. Rockall & Rishabh Singh

Authors
  1. Timothy A. Rockall
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Correspondence to Timothy A. Rockall .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden

    Olle Ljungqvist

  2. Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Higher Kingston, Yeovil, Somerset, UK

    Nader K. Francis

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s, Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Richard D. Urman

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Rockall, T.A., Singh, R. (2020). Bowel Preparation: Always, Sometimes, Never?. In: Ljungqvist, O., Francis, N., Urman, R. (eds) Enhanced Recovery After Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33443-7_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33443-7_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-33442-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-33443-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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