1c:I[419806,["/_next/static/chunks/bb923814e1f4d2e9.js","/_next/static/chunks/dd3ee9f5b7716ca6.js","/_next/static/chunks/4204a0ae82542ca8.js","/_next/static/chunks/30036bedc5269936.js","/_next/static/chunks/6e1aa89a642f40be.js","/_next/static/chunks/cd5e572bc3e4eb92.js","/_next/static/chunks/8ffd0b71567920d8.js","/_next/static/chunks/67ea6dfd21f16c5f.js","/_next/static/chunks/24eb4379f68013fd.js","/_next/static/chunks/b8cd775ffdf935bd.js","/_next/static/chunks/983103cd9eb7b428.js","/_next/static/chunks/d4ac9dcf27f6ff52.js","/_next/static/chunks/294b9525248c8e5f.js"],"default"] 1d:T40e,The introduction and widespread use of chemotherapeutic and antibiotic agents has resulted in profound changes in the number and character of infections that are being encountered. Emphasis has been placed most recently on the number and seriousness of staphylococcic infections, particularly those occurring within hospitals. This has been brought strikingly into our consciousness because of the large number of outbreaks in nurseries and maternity wards and by the high incidence of infections in originally clean surgical wounds and as complications of debilitating diseases, events which have resulted in considerable morbidity and appreciable mortality within hospitals. There is also some evidence of extension of these infections into the communities. The problem has been recognized as being world-wide and extending to all areas where antibiotics have been extensively used. It has also been the subject of many conferences and of a number of monographs.¹ Although the staphylococcus problem has received considerable1e:T449,Abscesses developing within the retroperitoneal spaces are serious surgical infections which are associated with prolonged morbidity and high mortality unless diagnosed early and treated adequately. These lesions are usually secondary, being complications of infections, injuries, or malignancy of adjacent retroperitoneal or intraperitoneal organs^1-5; osteomyelitis of the vertebral column or 12th rib; suppurative lymphadenitis; or bacteremia. The frequency with which these abscesses have been seen in recent years, even though antibiotic therapy has been in widespread use, and the associated diagnostic and therapeutic problems presented by them have stimulated us to review our cases seen in the Department of Surgery of the Cincinnati General Hospital and University of Cincinnati. Relatively little attention has been given to the problem of retroperitoneal infections, and most published reports have been concerned with case presentations and short reviews.^5-11The review by Neuhof and Arnheim in 1944⁷is more comprehensive.

Material

The records1f:T40c,THE OPPORTUNITIES for infection in patients after colon surgery are many and significant.^1,2The colon is the habitat of a large number and variety of bacteria whose invasive activities are normally controlled by the mucus membrane barrier of the gastrointestinal tract. Disturbances of this barrier by disease, injury, or operation permit the escape of indigenous bacteria capable of invading the peritoneal cavity, operative incision, or the blood stream with the production of a serious and sometimes life-threatening infection. Operations upon the colon may become necessary in many patients when various factors predisposing to infection exist. The importance of every practicing surgeon becoming familiar with these factors is obvious. A cooperative study of postoperative wound infections over a 27-month period performed in five University Hospitals, including the Cincinnati General Hospital, has been previously reported.³It was interesting to note that operations on the colon were attended by an overall

	Year	Citations

References