To assess the effect of warm versus regular room temperature seitz bath: a comparative study

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this retrospective study is to compare the effect of warm versus regular room temperature seitz bath. Material and methods: This was a clinical retrospectively study conducted in the Department of General Surgery, AIIMS, Patna, Bihar, India from nov 2018  to July 2019. Total 64 patients comprising cases of haemorrhoids, fissure, perianal fistula and perianal abscess in the age group of 18 years to 55 years were include in this study. A set protocol of medical line of management was made for all the patients in the form of 5 days course oral antibiotics, metronidazole, H2 blocker along with 3 to 5 days course of analgesic and ointment for local application. All the patients were asked to practice seitz bath of their choice by warm water or regular room temperature seitz bath with added povidone iodine solution 3 to 4 times in a day till the wound heals completely and the patient gets the desired pain relief. Results: All the 32 patients operated for perineal abscess and perianal fistulectomy were found to have significant discomfort in the initial 15 days to 21 days due to discharge from the wounds. But all the patients got satisfactory results with respect to the reduction in the amount of smell and discharge from wound after a period of 15 days to 21. Adequate wound healing was achieved over a period of 8 to 10 weeks in all the 32 patients of fistulectomy and perineal abscess depending upon the size of the tissue defect and severity of infection. Conclusion: The frequency of seitz bath and subsequent improvement in the local hygiene definitely give comfort to the patient and speeds up wound healing.

Keywords: Seitz bath, Perineal wound healing, Duration of recovery, Hygiene.