Canadian association of general surgeons and American college of surgeons evidence based reviews in surgery. 21. the risk of surgical site infection is reduced with perioperative oxygen

Objective: Does supplemental perioperative oxygen reduce the risk of surgical wound infection after colorectal surgery? Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Multicentre trial that included 14 hospitals in Spain. Patients: 300 patients aged 18-80 years who underwent elective colorectal resection. Patients who had surgery performed laparoscopically or who had minor colon surgery were excluded. Intervention: Patients were randomly allocated to either 30% or 80% fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO₂) intraoperatively and for 6 hours postoperatively. Anesthetic treatment and antibiotic administration were standardized. Main Outcome Measure: Surgical site infection (SSI) as defined by the Center for Disease Control. Results: SSI occurred in 35 of 143 patients (24.4%) who were administered 30% Fio₂ and in 22 of 148 patients (14.9%) who were administered 80% FiO₂ (p = 0.04). The risk of SSI was 39% lower in the 80% group (relative risk [RR], 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38-0.98) versus the 30% FiO₂ group. Conclusions: Patients receiving supplemental oxygen have a significant reduction in risk of surgical site infection.