Prophylaxis against sepsis in patients undergoing major surgery.

Postoperative infection in general surgical patients is discussed according to operation types. A selection of the huge literature on each group is reviewed, and details from the author's own work and ideas are presented. By discussing these points attempts are made to determine the best regimens for a given set of clinical circumstances. There is a small literature indicating that postoperative chest infection can be prevented by some antibacterial drug regimens, and this question has been addressed; it seems that in the past it has been largely ignored. Some nonantibacterial methods of reducing postoperative infection are also briefly discussed.