Der Stellenwert der Sepsis nach Laparotomie im Kindesalter

Laparotomy was performed on 579 children at the University Clinic of Paediatric Surgery in Mainz from 1.1.1975 to 31.12.1982. The children were up to 15 years of age; appendicitis or inguinal and umbilical hernia cases were not included. Postoperative sepsis occurred in 74 patients (12.8% of all children with laparotomy); in 51 cases positive bacteriological findings were seen besides the clinical and clinicochemical ones. Sepsis morbidity was particularly high in children who had not yet completed their first year of life (postoperative sepsis occurring in approximately every fourth infant); among the disease patterns, the following were particularly prominent: Defects of the abdominal wal…