Percutaneous catheter drainage of abscesses associated with enteric fistulae

In the past six years, percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) has been performed in the treatment of 99 patients with abdominal and retroperitoneal abscesses. Of these 99 patients, 15 had abscesses associated with an enteric fistula. Fistula sites included small bowel (five), colon (three), complex (three), duodenum (two) and one each for the stomach and common duct. Two of these 15 patients had an initially successful PCD, ten developed recurrent abscesses after the first PCD and the procedure failed in the remaining three patients. Of the ten patients with recurrent abscesses, eight were successfully treated by a second PCD while two required small-bowel resection. Of the three failures, all three required operation and eventually died of septic complications. The diagnosis of fistula was made at the initial PCD in only six of 15 cases. There was a significant correlation between PCD failure and presence of an enteric fistula (P less than 0.001 by chi-square test). These data suggest that the diagnosis of fistula associated with abdominal abscess is elusive, but once established, most recurrent abscesses can be successfully treated by a second PCD. Operative treatment of recurrent fistula-related abscesses should be reserved for persistent fistula drainage after a second PCD or for unresolved sepsis following the initial PCD.