Immune Monitoring after Colorectal Surgery

Our hypothesis is that infectious stimuli lead to a marker profile of
neutrophils and monocytes that allows the distinction of patients with
increased risk of infectious complications from those without, despite the
general inflammatory state induced by the surgical procedure.

To assess the predictive value of immune monitoring after colorectal surgery
for early detection of postoperative infectious complications.

The IMACS study is a prospective pilot study that assesses the predictive value
of immune monitoring after colorectal surgery for early detection of infectious
complications. Participation requires daily venepuncture of 3 mL from day of
surgery till the third postoperative day.

The extent of burden and risks associated with participation could be
considered as small. The invasive procedure performed on behalf of the IMACS
study is venepuncture (3 mL) performed at surgery and daily at the first three
postoperative days. In case of standard clinical practice after colorectal
surgery venepuncture is quite common to monitor the postoperative course.
Whether venepuncture is performed during standard practice depends on the
extent of patient*s recovery. Therefore the collection of blood samples on
behalf of the IMACS study does not always includes extra venepuncture but
sometimes 3 mL extra blood collection if venepuncture is indicated due to
standard clinical practice.