Table 1.

Study characteristics of included RCTs

Study	Meier et al. (2001) [38]	Berry et al. (1982) [31]
Number of patients	53 (≤ 13 years)	8 (< 15 years)
Number of centres	1	1
Dates	Jun 1994- Dec 1995	May 1978- Feb 1980
Surgical classification	Clean	Clean and clean-contaminated
Mean age	Not stated	Not stated
Intervention	Povidone-iodine vs soap and methyl alcohol	Povidone-iodine vs. chlorhexidine
SSI criteria	Redness of wound or purulent discharge	Redness of wound, oedema or purulent discharge
Duration of follow-up	30 days	Min 3–4 days, until discharge
Routine prophylactic antibiotics	no	Colonic and rectal surgery