Infectious complications postoperatively for penetrating abdominal
trauma are a major cause of morbidity, which contributes significantly to increased length of hospitalization stay and the cost of patient care. The results of recent studies have suggested that the probability of a major
infection after traumatic
intestinal perforation of the individual patient can be predicted from risk factors noted at the time of the operation. The factor most closely associated with the development of
infection is peritoneal contamination by intestinal contents. Other significant risk factors (p < 0.05) are the number of organs injured, number of units of blood administered,
ostomy formation for left colonic injury and patient age. The risk of patients being infected can be predicted and thereby used to guide postoperative treatment decisions. Adjusting
trauma care choices in
antibiotics, duration of
antibiotic administration and incisional
wound management could result in significant savings. Standard operative procedures, the use of parenteral
antibiotics (the duration of which has been one to two days in most recent studies) effective against endogenous aerobic and anaerobic organisms and leaving the
surgical incision open decrease the incidence of
postoperative wound infection. Despite such preventive measures, major
infection remains a problem.