critical care medicine
How To Do Diagnostic Peritoneal Lavage (DPL)
Additional Considerations for Diagnostic Peritoneal Lavage
Coagulopathy, either therapeutic (ie, due to use of anticoagulants) or clinical (eg, due to severe liver disease), increases the risk of procedural bleeding but is not a contraindication; diagnosis of serious intraabdominal injury is a more pressing concern. Prior to DPL, place a urethral catheter to decompress the bladder and a nasogastric tube to decompress the stomach and thereby avoid injury by the needle, guidewire, or catheter insertions.Before attempting urethral catheterization, suspected urethral trauma (eg, as suggested by meatal blood or perineal bruising or hematoma) should be excluded by retrograde urethrography. Prophylactic antibiotics are not needed for DPL. 