Anorectal wound healing: a comparison of the value of antibiotic agents and nitrofurazone.

A L T H O U G H many articles on surgical subjects have been reported in medical journals there have been few articles on the healing of anorectal wounds. For several years at the Medical College of South Caro!ina, a clinical study of postoperative anorectal wound healing has been carried out. In order to obtain objective evidence and to communicate information more accurately, all anorectal wounds were reproduced by color photography. These pictures, serially depicting the healing wound, revealed the progress of healing more eloquently than verbal description; unlike descriptive words, color reproductions do not possess muhipl ic i ty and ambiguity of meaning. in this report such well-known factors affecting wound healing as nutr i t ional status, vitamin and i)rotein requirements, fluid and electrolyte balance, and blood supply will not be discussed. There are special features which handicap any study of healing of anorectal wounds; namely, social prejudice, inaccessibility of the wound, and contamination. This clinical study is especialiy concerned with contamination. An investigation was made of cases in which erythromycin and tetracycline were administered orally and nitrofurazone (Furacin soluble dressing) was applied locally. No at tempt was made to select the patien:s in tl-is s~u:i 3. One group of i7 patien:s >ere given ev) thromvciu~ a seco::'!