Prognosis in intra-abdominal sepsis.

Peritonitis is a common surgical problem with a high mortality rate. Recent advances have not brought down the mortality rate. Eighty six patients with intra-abdominal sepsis were studied for factors affecting prognosis. The factors which significantly affected prognosis were: duration of illness, source of infection and APACHE-II score. Further, among the factors contributing to APACHE II score, statistical analysis using logistic regression identified some factors which individually affect outcome. Our results indicate that mortality rate is high in patients with long duration of illness, postoperative peritonitis and organ system insufficiency.