Host defense mechanisms of surgical patients. Friend or foe?
N. V. Christou
Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.
Surgeons and members of this society commonly deal with 2 types of
infections of great concern in hospitalized patients. These are
hospital-acquired pneumonia and intra-abdominal infections. Both of these
infections have the potential for severe morbidity and mortality. We have
learned how to classify the types of intra-abdominal infections into
primary peritonitis, localized abscess with or without peritonitis, diffuse
suppurative peritonitis, or combinations of these classifications. Each of
these conditions carries a different mortality risk proportional to its
severity. We have also learned how to diagnose surgical infections by
properly taking medical history and performing physical examination,
appropriate laboratory testing, and sophisticated imaging techniques. The
treatment of intra-abdominal infections has become fairly standardized and
includes surgical or percutaneous drainage of the infected material,
correction of the underlying pathologic symptoms, and broad-spectrum
empirical antibiotic therapy.
