3.2. Timing of surgery and laboratory findings
Table 2 presents the patients’ clinical characteristics and laboratory findings on the day of surgery. Surgery was performed on days 1-5 of hospitalization (three patients on day 1, eighteen on day 2, eight on day 3, three on day 4, and one on day 5), with no difference between the two groups in respect to mean timing for surgery (2.47 ± 0.8 days after admission in the SCG vs . 2.37 ± 0.9 days in the MCG, P=0.766). No differences were found between the study groups regarding mean body temperature measurements, CRP levels, and WBC counts recorded on the day of surgery.