Laparoscopy in the evaluation and treatment of patients with AIDS and acute abdominal complaints

The role of laparoscopy in patients with suspected peritonitis: experience of a single institution

PURPOSE

In this report, we retrospectively evaluate the effect of a laparoscopic approach in the diagnosis and treatment of acute abdominal pain in patients with suspected peritonitis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We evaluated the clinical records of patients admitted to our institution between January 1995 and July 2001 with a diagnosis of acute abdomen and suspected peritonitis.

RESULTS

Ninety four of 229 patients underwent diagnostic laparoscopy. In this series, 83 (88.3%) of the cases were successfully treated by emergent laparoscopy for an acute abdomen. Eleven (11.7%) required conversion to an open laparotomy procedure. Overall, the preoperative diagnosis was confirmed by laparoscopy in 67 (71.27%) of the cases. It was not confirmed in 27 (28.73%). Postoperative mortality was 4.25%. Morbidity was 8.5%.

DISCUSSION

Data reported in the literature establish that laparoscopy offers adequate visualization of the entire abdomen and pelvic cavity in the diagnosis of an abdomen acute secondary to peritonitis. In this series, laparoscopy confirmed the diagnosis in 97.8% of the patients, and minimally invasive treatment was achieved in 88.3% of the cases. Female patients with gynecologic disease particularly benefitted from a laparoscopic approach, which permitted the correct evaluation of this condition and may have prevented unnecessary laparotomy. We believe that laparoscopy is an accurate modality for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with an acute abdomen and suspected peritonitis when the diagnosis cannot be clearly made by physical examination and noninvasive methods.

Diagnostic laparoscopy for the acute abdomen and trauma

BACKGROUND

We set out to investigate the potential benefits of routine diagnostic laparoscopy (DL) in cases of acute abdomen.

METHODS

A prospective study of 120 DL in acute abdominal cases was performed in comparison with 310 similar acute abdominal cases treated without DL. The diagnostic accuracy, hospital stay, therapeutic delay, and convalescence time were then evaluated.

RESULTS

DL established the indications for intervention in 96% of cases, yielded a diagnosis in 90%, and changed the treatment in 14%. The sensitivity achieved was 99.3%, specificity was 83.3%, and accuracy was 88.6%. There were two false positives, one false negative, and three results insufficient to make a diagnosis. Morbidity was one (0.8%), and mortality was one (0.8%). Seventy-nine patients (66%) were managed by laparoscopy and 24 by open interventions. The hospital stay in DL groups was shorter (median, 5 days vs 6 days in controls, p<0.0003), as was the effective treatment time (median, 5 days vs 6 days, p<0.0012). The convalescence time was also shorter in DL groups (median, 14 days vs 14 days, p<0.04). Therapeutic delay occurred in 16% of the control group cases, doubling the morbidity rate, increasing mortality by 50%, and prolonging hospital stay (median, 9 days vs 6 days, p>0.3 (NS).

CONCLUSIONS

DL in the acute abdomen is a safe and accurate procedure that enables laparoscopic interventions and helps avoid nontherapeutic surgery. DL and appropriate treatment reduces hospital stay, therapeutic delay, and convalescence time.

Laparoscopic surgery and surgical infection

INTRODUCTION

It has been observed that the metabolic response to surgical injury is less after laparoscopic surgery than after open surgery. However, the effect of laparoscopic surgery on surgical infection has not been given much attention in the surgical literature, even though it may decrease the incidence of infectious complications. The objective of this study was to assess the influence that laparoscopic surgery has on surgical infection and to highlight certain controversial aspects.

METHODS

A review of the literature was undertaken to examine the relationship between laparoscopic surgery and surgical infection. This was achieved primarily by using PubMed Medline as a source of material.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic surgery is associated with better preservation of the immune system than open surgery. This results in a decreased incidence of infectious complications. Although carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum affects the peritoneal response to injury, it seems to have no harmful effect in terms of intra-abdominal infection. Nevertheless, at laparoscopic operation the virulence of intestinal micro-organisms should be recognized and, while knowing the advantages of minimally invasive surgery, the surgeon should consider the complexity of this technique. Furthermore, maintenance of laparoscopic instruments should be governed by the same norms as those used in open surgery; recommendations offered by the manufacturers should be respected.