Outcome of Acute Peritonitis Related To Cause and Duration Of Presentation

Objective: To determine the outcome of acute cause-related peritonitis correlated with the duration of inflammation within 24, 24-48, and after 48 hours of hospital admission. Methodology: This quasi experimental study was conducted at Surgical Ward #3, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre from September 2019 to March 2021. Patients over 12 years old were included in this study. The duration, cause, and outcomes of peritonitis were noted. All complications were recorded and treated accordingly. Results: 136 patients between the ages of 13 to 80 years old were included, 104 were males (76.8%) and 32 females (23.18%). 37 patients (28.2%) were aged 13–20 years, 61 (44.2%) were aged 21–40, 33 (23.91%) were aged 41–60, and 5 (3.6%) were aged over 60 years. Mortality showed 2 patients (1.47%) expired in 24–48 hours, and 6 (4.4%) in 48 hours.  The cause of peritonitis included typhoid ileal perforation (41%), duodenal perforation (33%), ruptured appendix (28%), intestinal tuberculous (14%), gangrenous gut (7%), tumour perforation (6%), liver abscess (3%), and gastric perforation and rectal tear (1%). Notably, 2.4% of patients with typhoid peritonitis, 3.0% with duodenal perforation, 3.5% with ruptured appendix, 14.2% with tuberculous intestine, 33.3% with tumour perforation, and 100% with liver abscess perforation passed. Paralytic ileus (8%) and burst abdomen (8%), were the most common complications. Conclusion: Typhoid ileal perforation was the major cause of peritonitis, and paralytic ileus and burst abdomen were the most common complications contributing to the mortality rate.