Mechanical bowel preps offer no clinical benefit for pancreaticoduodenectomy
Mechanical bowel preparations (MBP) are commonly administered preoperatively to patients who undergo a pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) (Whipple procedure) to treat benign and malignant tumors of the pancreas, common bile duct or duodenum. MBPs are employed as a preventative measure in gastrointestinal surgery but their effectiveness in reducing perioperative infectious complications remains unclear. Now, a research team from the Department of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University has concluded MBPs offer no clinical benefit to patients undergoing a pancreaticoduodenectomy. The results are set to appear in the August 2010 edition of the journal Surgery, but are available now online (see Editor's Note for Web address).