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Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract

  • Chapter
Gut Dysfunction in Critical Illness

Part of the book series: Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine ((UICM,volume 26))

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Abstract

Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) is an infection prevention technique used in granulocytopenic patients, transplantation surgery and in critically ill intensive care patients. It is based on the observation that many infections are caused by aerobic gram-negative bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonadaceae), Staphylococcus aureus and yeast spp. carried in the oropharyngeal or intestinal flora (i.e. endogenous infections). It is called selective because the topical antibiotics used for SDD have little effect on the indigenous flora. The indigenous mostly anaerobic flora should be preserved as much as possible because it has important physiological functions and is seldom the cause of infection. More than 10 years after the introduction of SDD in intensive care [1] it is still controversial. In this chapter, the rationale for SDD in intensive care patients and the controversial issues will be discussed.

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Authors
  1. C. P. Stoutenbeek
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  2. H. K. F. van Saene
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Pennsylvania University Hospital, 3400 Spruce Street, 19104, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    J. L. Rombeau

  2. Department of Intensive Care Critical Care Research Program, Kuopio University Hospital, FIN-70211, Kuopio, Finland

    J. Takala

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Stoutenbeek, C.P., van Saene, H.K.F. (1996). Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract. In: Rombeau, J.L., Takala, J. (eds) Gut Dysfunction in Critical Illness. Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, vol 26. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-80224-9_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-80224-9_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-80226-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-80224-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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