Colo-Pro_2: Bolus-continuous Infusion Cefuroxime Prophylaxis for the Prevention of Infections After Colorectal Surgery

After a surgical operation patients may have an infection in the operation wound, the bladder, kidneys or lungs. To stop these infections patients are given a dose of antibiotic before their operation. Unfortunately, the amount of antibiotic available to fight infections falls throughout an operation, being removed from the body by the kidneys. Therefore, antibiotic levels may not be high enough to stop infections. A way of maintaining antibiotic levels throughout an operation is to give a single dose of antibiotic and then a constant amount of antibiotic by an infusion from the start to the end of the operation. A small single centre test study was previosuly undertaken into antibiotic dosing during bowel operations. One group of patients had a single dose of antibiotic before their operation. The other group had a single dose plus a constant dose of antibiotic until the end of their operation. The project showed patients were happy to take part and that the study was safe. The study helped us identify the correct amounts of antibiotic needed for the patients given the single dose plus a constant dose of antibiotic. This study was conducted at one hospital only, and wasn't big enough to confirm if one treatment was better than another or if results would be similar in other hospitals. This study will build on the pilot study in a larger feasibility trial, the Colo-Pro\_2 trial. It will be run in three hospitals so can assess if the trial design works at different hospitals. We will see if the results suggest one treatment, single dose of antibiotics before an operation, or single dose plus a constant dose of antibiotics throughout an operation, is better. This study will include up to 180 patients having bowel operations as they have a high risk of infection. All patients will be given the same antibiotic which is called cefuroxime. Cefuroxime is already used to stop infections after surgery. Using the same antibiotic in all patients means it is possible to know if differences in the number of infections are due to how the antibiotic is given. The number of infections that happen up to 30 days after operations will be counted. Staff looking after patients after the operation and those counting the infections will not know, unless necessary, the treatment patients received. This means the results won't be influenced by knowledge of the treatment received.