INFECTIOUS COMPLICATIONS OF THE ABDOMEN FOLLOWING GASTRIC OPERATIONS

  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 156  (2) , 171-176
Abstract
A retrospective study of postoperative abdominal infectious complications was carried out for 625 consecutive patients operated on for various gastroduodenal disorders during a 10 yr period; 14.7% of the patients had a wound infection postoperatively and 6.6%, an intra-abdominal abscess. In 2/3 of the patients with an abscess, a leakage was noted from an anastomosis. The patients who seemed to possess a particular risk of having septic complications postoperatively were those operated on to control bleeding, patients having a 2nd operation during the same hospital stay, patients operated on for a recurrent ulcer and those operated on for cancer. The type of operation performed, the age of the patient and some other patient related and hospital related factors, particularly coexisting hypoproteinemia or hypoalbuminemia, or both, seemed to influence adversely the infectious morbidity. The significance of these postoperative complications is also illustrated by the mortality figures and by the increased hospital stay brought about by these complications.

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