We report the case of a 77-year-old patient with a history of hypertension and ischemic heart disease who was being studied for nonspecific abdominal discomfort and recent onset anemia.
The patient was scheduled for evacuation after intestinal preparation with Bohn's solution.
During the procedure, the patient suffered an intestinal perforation at the level of the sigmoid colon. For this reason, an urgent surgical intervention was performed, with a perforation of 1 centimeter in length and drainage of simple sutures leaving one suture.
She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the immediate postoperative period.
Upon arrival to the ICU, broad-spectrum antibiotics were administered prior to the collection of microbiological samples.
Serial quantification of PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels of normal CRP (0.25 mg/dl) and slightly elevated PCT (0.6 ng/ml) was performed among the complementary tests performed.
In measurements taken 2 hours and 12 hours after admission of the patient to the ICU there was a significant increase in PCT values (12.73 and 220 ng/ml) while CRP values only slightly increased (0.8 and 15.5 mg/ml).
Abdominal drainage culture revealed cloacae sensitive to the antibiotic regimen administered.
The patient was discharged 72 hours after admission to the ICU.
