[Postoperative peritoneal irrigation in generalized peritonitis treated in an intensive care unit]

Over a period of four years, 16 patients with generalized peritonitis have been treated by postoperative peritoneal irrigation in an Intensive Care Unit. The majority of cases involved postoperative peritonitis accompanied by severe visceral failure. The irrigation liquid, containing an antibacterial agent, was perfused for between one and eleven days at a high flow rate (mean 16.5 I). The overall mortality in the series was extremely high (75 p. 100), and even greater (85 p. 100) if only the cases of postoperative peritonitis were considered. Anatomical examination of the peritoneum, performed on reintervention or at autopsy, revealed an abnormally high incidence of residual abscesses. These are responsable for the continuation or recurrence of infection, and explain the high mortality. These observations, combined with the frequent occurrence of local or general complications, led the authors to reject peritoneal irrigation in postoperative peritonitis in the presence of severe visceral failure, and to use it, in selected cases, only for periods not exceeding 48 hours.