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Intraperitoneal Spread of Infections

  • Chapter
Dynamic Radiology of the Abdomen

Abstract

A remarkable change in the epidemiology of subphrenic and subhepatic abscesses has occurred over the last several decades. In the past, the most common causes included perforations of anterior gastric or duodenal ulcers and rupture of a gangrenous appendix. Today, 60–71% of such abscesses are postoperative and are particularly frequent following gastric and biliary tract operations and colonic surgery. 1–3 Many of the cases of postoperative abscesses are secondary to anastomotic leaks.4 More prompt diagnosis currently in conditions such as peptic ulcer and appendicitis, leading to earlier surgical intervention, results in an increasing proportion of postoperative abscesses. The bacterial flora generally consist of multiple strains of aerobic and anaerobic organisms. The aerobes include particularly E. coli, Streptococcus, Klebsiella, and Proteus; and the anaerobes Bacteroides and cocci.2

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, USA

    Morton A. Meyers M.D. (Professor and Chairman)

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  1. Morton A. Meyers M.D.
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© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Meyers, M.A. (1988). Intraperitoneal Spread of Infections. In: Dynamic Radiology of the Abdomen. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3961-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3961-9_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-3963-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-3961-9

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