Antibiotics covering aerobic and aerobic bacteria should be delivered orally and intravenously prior to colorectal surgery.  Antibiotics delivered within this framework will reduce the risk of postoperative SWI by at least 75%.  Further research is required to establish the optimal timing and duration of dosing, and frequency of longer-term adverse effects such as Clostridium difficile pseudomembranous colitis.
[Short-term antibiotic prophylaxis in colorectal surgery: cefoxitin versus piperacillin. A double-blind randomized study, 60 cases].
A randomized, double-blind comparative trial of cefoxitine and piperacillin was conducted in two groups of 30 patients with a similar number of the usual risk factors. Doses of cefoxitine 2 g and piperacillin 4 g were administered only once, except in some cases when the operation lasted more than 5 hours. Analysis of the results showed that the two antibiotics had equivalent prophylactic effectiveness (congruent to 6%) in colorectal surgery.