Aspiration versus peritoneal lavage in appendicitis

“The management of IAA remains controversial with different strategies suggested to decrease its incidence: antibiotic prophylaxis, post-operative antibiotic therapy, peritoneal irrigation with saline solution or suction only of the abscess/purulent liquid without irrigation of the cavity during appendectomy. In the literature, many studies address this topic; however, currently there is no evidence to clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of peritoneal irrigation over suction only. Italian guidelines recommend thorough peritoneal lavage (6–8 L of warm saline) and aspiration to minimize the IAA rate in complicated appendicitis. The recent WSES (World Society of Emergency Surgery) guidelines report that “Peritoneal irrigation does not have any advantage over suction alone in complicated appendicitis in both adults and children. The performance of irrigation during laparoscopic appendectomy does not seem to prevent the development of IAA and wound infections
in neither adults nor paediatric patients”. WSES recommendation is “to perform suction only in complicated appendicitis patients with intra-abdominal collections undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy” [QoE: Moderate; Strength of recommendation: Strong; 1B]). The concern regarding irrigation and lavage is that these procedures might help spread the infectious material.”

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Article of interest: Laparoscopic Lavage vs Primary Resection for Acute Perforated Diverticulitis: Long-term Outcomes From the Scandinavian Diverticulitis (SCANDIV) Randomized Clinical Trial.

Azhar N, Johanssen A, Sundström T, et al. Laparoscopic Lavage vs Primary Resection for Acute Perforated Diverticulitis: Long-term Outcomes From the Scandinavian Diverticulitis (SCANDIV) Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Surg. 2021 Feb 1;156(2):121-127.

Full-text for Emory users.

Results: Of 199 randomized patients, 101 were assigned to undergo laparoscopic peritoneal lavage and 98 were assigned to colon resection. At the time of surgery, perforated purulent diverticulitis was confirmed in 145 patients randomized to lavage (n = 74) and resection (n = 71). The median follow-up was 59 (interquartile range, 51-78; full range, 0-110) months, and 3 patients were lost to follow-up, leaving a final analysis of 73 patients who had had laparoscopic lavage (mean [SD] age, 66.4 [13] years; 39 men [53%]) and 69 who had received a resection (mean [SD] age, 63.5 [14] years; 36 men [52%]). Severe complications occurred in 36% (n = 26) in the laparoscopic lavage group and 35% (n = 24) in the resection group (P = .92). Overall mortality was 32% (n = 23) in the laparoscopic lavage group and 25% (n = 17) in the resection group (P = .36). The stoma prevalence was 8% (n = 4) in the laparoscopic lavage group vs 33% (n = 17; P = .002) in the resection group among patients who remained alive, and secondary operations, including stoma reversal, were performed in 36% (n = 26) vs 35% (n = 24; P = .92), respectively. Recurrence of diverticulitis was higher following laparoscopic lavage (21% [n = 15] vs 4% [n = 3]; P = .004). In the laparoscopic lavage group, 30% (n = 21) underwent a sigmoid resection. There were no significant differences in the EuroQoL-5D questionnaire or Cleveland Global Quality of Life scores between the groups.

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