Sutures and Wound Repair/ General Surgery (ABSA) Practice Test

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Enhance your knowledge in General Surgery with our Sutures and Wound Repair test. Tackle multiple-choice questions with detailed explanations to ensure readiness for your exam!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

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What role does neomycin play in the preoperative bowel preparation for intestinal surgery?

  1. Enhances intestinal contractility

  2. Reduces aerobic and anaerobic resident bacteria in the bowel

  3. Promotes healing of the bowel

  4. Increases water absorption

The correct answer is: Reduces aerobic and anaerobic resident bacteria in the bowel

Neomycin plays a crucial role in the preoperative bowel preparation for intestinal surgery due to its ability to significantly reduce both aerobic and anaerobic resident bacteria in the bowel. This antibiotic is particularly effective in decreasing the microbial load in the gastrointestinal tract, which is important for minimizing the risk of postoperative infections, such as wound infections and anastomotic leaks. By reducing the bacterial flora, neomycin helps create a cleaner operative field, enhancing the overall safety and efficacy of the surgical procedure. The other choices do not accurately represent the primary role of neomycin in this context. Enhancing intestinal contractility is more related to other medications that increase motility rather than an antibiotic like neomycin. Promoting healing of the bowel is typically associated with other therapeutic agents or conditions that support recovery, rather than a preoperative antibiotic. Finally, increasing water absorption is not a function attributed to neomycin; its role as an antibiotic is focused specifically on infection control rather than altering absorption characteristics of the intestines.