Causes and Patterns of Peritonitis at St. Francis Hospital Nsambya, Kampala - Uganda

Background: A wide variety of disease states give rise to intra-abdominal infection1 . While varying according to age, gender and geography, the three most common causes of generalized peritonitis in low-income countries are probably appendicitis, perforated duodenal ulcer and typhoid perforations, in no particular order2 .Causes and patterns of peritonitis were evaluated in patients surgically managed at Nsambya hospital. This study was aimed at determining the causes and patterns of peritonitis in patients managed surgically at St. Francis Hospital, Nsambya.
Methods: This was both a retrospective and prospective study of patients with peritonitis who underwent surgical treatment at Nsambya Hospital over a 15-months period from January 2012- to March 2013 inclusive. A total of 62 patients were included in the study.
Results: Of the 62 patients, 29 patients were retrospective and 33 patients prospective, 46 (74.2%) were males while 16 (25.8%) were females, giving a male to female sex ratio of 3:1. The mean age at presentation was 30.79 (SD 15.55) years, the youngest being 11 and the oldest 77 years. Perforated peptic ulcers, perforated appendix and perforated ileum were the commonest causes of peritonitis.
Conclusion: The commonest causes of peritonitis were perforated peptic ulcers, perforated appendix and perforated ileum.