Appendicitis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Appendicitis, including details on symptoms, surgery, causes, treatment.

Value of intraoperative abdominal cavity culture in appendicectomy: a retrospective study.

Moawad MR, Dasmohapatra S, Justin T, Keeling N

Department of Colorectal Surgery, West Suffolk Hospital, Cambridge University Teaching Hospitals Trust, Hardwick Lane, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 2QZ, UK. mikowm@hotmail.com

Appendicectomy is one of the most common surgical emergency procedures. Intraperitoneal culture during appendicectomy is routine practice in some hospitals, while some surgeons advocate abandoning this routine. The aim of our study is to determine the value of intraoperative abdominal cavity culture and its impact on the patient management. Retrospective analysis was performed on 498 patients who underwent appendicectomy over 2.5-year period. The median of the postoperative hospital stay was 2 days, while the median time taken to receive culture results was 3 days. A positive culture was found in 42.6%. Approximately 42.7% of the patients were discharged from the hospital before receiving the culture results. The culture and sensitivity results altered the antibiotic regimen in one patient (0.85%). Intraoperative abdominal cavity culture results were seldom used for clinical management in patients with acute appendicitis. The traditional surgical practice of routinely culturing peritoneal fluid in these patients should be abandoned.

Published 19 November 2006 in Int J Clin Pract, 60(12): 1588-90.
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