Contemporary practice among pediatric surgeons in the use of bowel preparation for elective colorectal surgery: A survey of the American Pediatric Surgical Association

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to characterize contemporary practice among pediatric surgeons in the use of mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) and oral antibiotics (OA) for elective colorectal surgery.

METHODS: A survey of the American Pediatric Surgical Association membership was conducted to characterize variation in the use of MBP and OA for commonly performed elective colorectal procedures in children.

RESULTS: Three-hundred thirteen members completed the survey. The most common approach used was MBP alone (31.1%), followed by diet modification only (26.8%), MBP combined with OA (19.6%), no preparation or dietary modification (12.2%), and OA alone (5.4%). The most common MBP used was a polyethylene glycol-based solution (92.6%), and the most common OA approach was neomycin combined with erythromycin (55.9%). Although MBP alone was the preferred approach among pediatric surgeons, the greatest relative change reported over time was in the adoption of dietary modifications only or no preparation at all.

CONCLUSIONS: Significant variation exists in the use of bowel preparation among pediatric surgeons. Although use of MBP alone remains the preferred approach for most procedures, an increasing number of surgeons report abandoning this approach in favor of dietary modification alone or no preparation at all.