Percutaneous Catheter Decompression in the Treatment of Elevated Intra-abdominal Pressure

Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH), the presence of elevated intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS), the development of IAH-induced organ-dysfunction and failure, are both associated with significant morbidity and mortality when appropriate and expedient treatment is not rendered. Elevated IAP is an independent predictor of mortality during critical illness and serial IAP measurements are increasingly being performed in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting.

Despite growing evidence demonstrating the survival benefit of serial IAP monitoring and abdominal decompression in patients with IAH / ACS, some physicians are reluctant to consider decompression or unable to convince a surgeon to open the abdomen of patients manifesting IAH-related organ failure. Percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) of free intra-abdominal fluid, air, abscess, or blood has been suggested in several case reports and small clinical trials to be a less invasive technique for reducing IAP and potentially correcting IAH-induced organ dysfunction. PCD, performed under ultrasound or computed tomography guidance, is described in the current World Society of the Abdominal Compartment Syndrome (WSACS) consensus recommendations as a therapeutic option, but insufficient data currently exist to support a strong evidence-based recommendation for the percutaneous treatment of IAH / ACS (10,12). Since 2007, we have employed PCD in the treatment of patients with IAH due to free intraperitoneal fluid and blood. This study describes our experience with the less invasive PCD technique compared to contemporaneous matched control patients who received traditional open abdominal decompression (OAD) for the treatment of IAH / ACS.