Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Mar-Apr;108(2):212-8.
doi: 10.1080/00015458.2008.11680206.

Management strategies for the open abdomen: survey of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma membership

A A MacLean  1 , T O'Keeffe, J Augenstein
Affiliations

Management strategies for the open abdomen: survey of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma membership

A A MacLean et al. Acta Chir Belg. 2008 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to report results from a survey of members of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) on strategies for management of the open abdomen.

Material and methods: Invitations to participate in a web-based survey were sent to AAST members via email.

Main results: The response rate was 26%. For 74% of surgeons surveyed, the number of cases treated per year has increased over the last 10 years. The abdomen is left open for damage control (46% of respondents) and abdominal organ distention (22%). Most respondents use the vacuum pack system to temporarily close the abdomen (57%) and a smaller proportion use a bogota bag (18%). Ventilatory failure was the most frequent complication (72%) and elderly patients have the worse outcome. SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS: Given the lack of consensus regarding optimal management strategies for the open abdomen, there is a need for prospective, multi-institutional studies to evaluate therapeutic approaches to treat this challenging problem.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources