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The therapeutic results and complications of 557 thoracic operations are evaluated. 94.4% of the patients recovered, 2.7% improved and 2.9% died. There appears to be a significant correlation between the therapeutic results, the diagnosis and the type of operation. The 7.0% wound infections were closely related to the age of the patient. The postoperative respiratory complications observed in 11.5% of the cases were in close relation to the diagnosis. The causes leading to respiratory complications and the length of the febrile period are discussed in detail, and the results are assessed in the light of data in the literature.

The role of antibiotics in the therapeutical result and in the postoperative complications was studied after 557 thoracic operations. It was found that antibiotics have no decisive role in the therapeutic result and there was no difference in the incidence of wound infections between the groups treated with different antibiotics. The principles and practice of treatment of would infections and pyothorax are discussed in detail. No relationship was found between the incidence of postoperative respiratory complications and the various drug treatments. Prevention and treatment of postoperative respiratory complications are discussed. The length of the febrile period was independent of the antibiotics applied. Their time of application, the problem of changing drugs and their side-effects after thoracic operations are analyzed.

After a review of the literature on antibiotic prophylaxis in thoracic surgery the authors present their own procedure, and point out the lack of difference between the therapeutic results and the incidence of complications in the groups treated with various antibiotics, and the control groups. Thus, routine prophylaxis is out-of-date, superfluous and even harmful in thoracic surgery. They are against preventive application in every case, but do not claim that antibiotics should never be applied. Pulmonary operations might be considered potentially infected; this, however, is not the same as an indication for prophylaxis. In thoracic surgery, preventive treatment is determined by individual indications and should always be of the aimed type. Antibiotics are dear, but their high price must not prevent their use, though the financial aspects of superfluously performed antibiotic prevention are not negligible.