Advantage and disadvantage of preoperative bowel preparation before colorectal surgery / 中华胃肠外科杂志

ABSTRACT

In the past several years of 21 century, there are many updates of concepts on the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer, which indicates the era of experience-based medicine has been gradually replaced by that of evidence-based medicine. Despite emerging evidence from randomized controlled trials(RCT) and meta-analyses questioning its use, concurrent suggestion on the indication of preoperative bowel preparation has not been reached. The authors agree with the opinion of The Huang Jia-si Textbook of Surgery(7th Edition). Preoperative bowel preparation should be emphasized before the consensus is confirmed, though there are so many trials showing that bowel preparation before elective colorectal surgery was unnecessary. In the authors' consideration, compared with the Westerner, the Chinese prefer to the food style of low fat and high cellulose, which would make more food residue. So whether the oversea finding of the preoperative bowel preparation is fit for the colorectal patients in China is questioned. Therefore large-sample, multi-centre, prospective RCT is expected to be carried out by the national academic organization, by which high-ranking evidence suitable for the Chinese could be obtained.