This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Peritoneal lavage (diagnostic)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Diagnostic peritoneal lavage was introduced as a more accurate means than needle aspiration of assessing visceral injury following blunt abdominal trauma.

Diagnostic peritoneal lavage may be considered when there is:

  • an alteration in the level of responsiveness of the patient to abdominal examination resulting from head injury, alcohol, drugs or spinal cord damage.
  • absence of specific abdominal signs
  • when it is impossible to continue to monitor potential changes in abdominal findings due to the patient undergoing other required procedures, e.g. neurosurgical operation or maintenance on a respirator

It is said to be up to 98% reliable in determining the presence of absence of intra-abdominal injury following blunt trauma. However, poor predictive value is found for injuries to the retroperitoneal portion of the duodenum and colon, pancreas, and extraperitoneal part of the urinary bladder. Laparoscopic diagnosis is an increasingly favoured option.


Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.