Composite Inflammatory Indicators as Early Predictor of Intra-abdominal Infections after General Surgery

Objective: To identify rapid and accurate early diagnostic indicators for intra-abdominal infection (IAI) after general surgery. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 3,810 general surgical patients in our hospital from August 2017 to July 2018. The predictive value of PCT, CRP, TNF alpha, and IL6 on postoperative days (PODs) 1 and 3 and composite indicators for complicated IAIs among surgical patients was clarified. Results: There were 271 patients in the infected group and 614 patients in the uninfected group using IAI diagnostic criteria in this study. CRP, PCT, TNF alpha, and IL6 in the infected group were significantly higher than the uninfected group on POD1 and POD3. In the infected group, the composition of the four indicators on POD1 (AUC 0.819) and POD3 (AUC 0.848) showed higher predictive efficiency than the individual indicators (AUC 0.670-0.805). Conclusion: The composite of CRP, PCT, TNF alpha, and IL6 can be used as a predictor of postoperative abdominal infectious complications with high sensitivity and specificity on POD1 and POD3, which can provide a basis for early diagnosis of postoperative abdominal infectious complications.

Automated summary

This study aimed to identify rapid and accurate early diagnostic indicators for intra-abdominal infection after general surgery. The combination of CRP, PCT, TNF alpha, and IL6 showed higher predictive efficiency for complicated IAIs among surgical patients compared to individual indicators on postoperative days 1 and 3. These composite indicators can serve as predictors with high sensitivity and specificity for postoperative abdominal infectious complications.