A Randomized Clinical Trial of Synbiotic Treatment before Colorectal Cancer Surgery

Abstract

Synbiotics (probiotics and prebiotics) have a recognized positive effect on maintenance of the gut barrier but their supposed effect on reducing postoperative infective complications after colorectal surgery is not certain as a result of differing results in existing clinical studies. Significantly higher number of probiotic bacteria on the colonic mucosa of the patients who received synbiotics meaning that a sufficient number of bacteria reached the colon. Unfortunately, no benefit of intervention and neither synbiotics nor prebiotics had a positive effect on systemic inflammation, postoperative course, or complications after colorectal cancer surgery when compared with mechanical bowel cleansing was found.