title: [The abdominal compartment syndrome].
abstract: In two patients, a man aged 67 and a woman aged 80, an abdominal compartment syndrome was diagnosed. The man had been treated surgically for an abdominal aortic aneurysm; he recovered after re-operation. The woman had been treated by sigmoidectomy because of ileus. A Bogota bag and a vacuum-assisted wound-closure system were applied to the abdominal wound. Her condition deteriorated, an intestinal perforation became apparent, of which she did not recover and died. An abdominal compartment syndrome should always be kept in mind when a patient at risk presents with increased intra-abdominal pressure and at least one of the following symptoms: oliguria, decreased cardiac output, increased pulmonary-artery pressure, hypotension and acidosis. Measurement of the bladder pressure remains the method of choice to establish the abdominal pressure level. However, there is a lack of correlation between the measured pressure and the clinical condition of the patient. Therefore, the combination of clinical findings and the observed trend in serial measurements of the bladder pressure is preferred to a single pressure measurement.
authors: Afd. Heelkunde, Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, Postbus 9600, 2300 RC Leiden.
authors: A L
authors: AL
authors: Rozeboom
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Havekes
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Steenvoorde
authors: M S
authors: MS
authors: Arbous
authors: C V
authors: CV
authors: Elzo Kraemer
authors: C J H
authors: CJ
authors: van de Velde
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000601:surgery*; D012809:Colon, Sigmoid / Q000601:surgery*; D003161:Compartment Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D045823:Ileus / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous