Diagnostic peritoneal lavage

Peritoneal lavage (also Abdominallavage or abdominal lavage ) is a term used in medicine and refers to the irrigation of the abdominal cavity with diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.

As a diagnostic procedure, the peritoneal lavage was used previously for the detection of bleeding and organ injury after accidents and rarely also in the context of staging in cancer patients, however, since the rise of modern of imaging techniques ( ultrasound, computed tomography) largely obsolete. The abdomen is punctured below the umbilicus in the midline. About a catheter a body-temperature Ringer's solution is infused. Then the rinse solution runs after the siphoning principle back into the bottle.

• Negative result: colorless, clear rinsing liquid
• Positive finding: bloody irrigation fluid, possibly with bile and stool admixtures. Possibly the hematocrit as well as amylase or lipase are determined in the washing liquid. When a positive result is usually followed by a laparotomy.
• Contraindicated in the presence of a peritoneal lavage is

• Verwachsungsbauchs or
• Ileus.

From the results of the lavage each about 5% false negative ( in the presence of adhesions ) or false positive ( induced by the lavage catheter bleeding).

For therapeutic purposes, the peritoneal lavage is performed to remove toxins, enzymes and protein degradation products such as for example, a peritonitis. As well as the lavage fluid is also used for highly supercooled patients in order to heat it again.