Factors influencing the outcome of image-guided percutaneous drainage of intra-abdominal abscess after gastrointestinal surgery

PURPOSE: To improve the selection of patients for percutaneous abscess drainage (PAD) to treat postoperative intra-abdominal abscess after gastrointestinal surgery, we investigated the factors predictive of outcome. METHODS: Of 143 consecutive patients with symptomatic postoperative intra-abdominal abscess after a gastrointestinal tract resection, 104 who underwent image-guided PAD as the initial treatment were reviewed. We assessed the possible associations between successful PAD and patient-, abscess-, surgical-, and drainage-related variables, and investigated the success rates of PAD for patients with vs. those without the factors related to successful outcome. RESULTS: Based on monitoring for 1 year after PAD, the success rate of this procedure was 85.6 % (89/104). Multivariate analysis revealed that the interval between surgery and the onset of abscess (p = 0.0234) and a single abscess (p = 0.0038) were independently associated with a successful outcome. Single late-onset abscess resolved completely within 10 weeks in 91.4 % of these patients. CONCLUSIONS: Despite new strategies aimed at preventing surgical site infection, PAD remains an important factor in the postoperative management of gastrointestinal surgery in Japan. Initial recognition of the day of onset and the number of abscesses are important prognostic factors.