Bacterial translocation

‘Bacterial translocation (BT) describes the passage of bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract to normally sterile tissues such as the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) and other internal organs. The clinical and pathophysiological significance of BT remains controversial. This report describes results obtained over a 13-year period of study.”

Table 1. Patients characteristics and indication for laparotomy

Type of surgery
 Emergency185
 Elective742
Diagnosis
 Malignancy543 (58·6)
  Upper gastrointestinal26
  Pancreaticohepatobiliary16
  Colorectal402
  Other99
 Inflammatory bowel disease94 (10·1)
  Crohn’s disease44
  Ulcerative colitis50
 Benign upper gastrointestinal54 (5·8)
 Benign pancreaticohepatobiliary44 (4·7)
 Benign lower gastrointestinal105 (11·3)
 Abdominal aortic aneurysm87 (9·4)
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