Objective: To report the novel technique of periumbilical ultrasound-guided saline infusion (PUGSI).
Design: Prospective study of two noninvasive diagnostic tests to detect obliterating subumbilical adhesions.
Setting: Tertiary care center.
Patient(s): One hundred fifty patients were included in the study. Patients without risk factors for adhesions were used as a control group (n = 38), whereas the study group had risk factors for intra-abdominal adhesions (n = 112).
Intervention(s): Preoperative examination with the visceral slide and the PUGSI.
Main outcome measure(s): The presence of obliterating subumbilical adhesions in the high-risk patient and the ability of the PUGSI to detect them preoperatively.
Result(s): There were no obliterating umbilical adhesions in the control group. The prevalence of obliterating umbilical adhesions in the risk group was 3.6%. The visceral slide test had an accuracy of 96.4%, a sensitivity of 50%, and a specificity of 98.1%, with a negative predictive value of 98.1% and a positive predictive value of 50%. The PUGSI test was able to detect all cases of obliterating subumbilical adhesions, demonstrating sensitivity and specificity of 100%.
Conclusion(s): The PUGSI test has excellent negative and positive predictive values and is useful in determining patients who have obliterating subumbilical adhesions. Use of both tests preoperatively appears to be helpful in identifying patients at risk for visceral injury during laparoscopic surgery.