Aspiration Treatment of Perianal Abscess

The purpose of this study is to compare aspiration and oral antibiotics with surgical incision in the treatment of perianal abscesses in terms of recurrence and subsequent fistula formation. Included patients will be randomised to either aspiration or incision.

Anorectal abscess is a common condition, caused by cryptoglandular polymicrobial infection, where the traditional treatment is surgical drainage. Anorectal abscess is associated with recurrence rates between 6-44 % after surgical drainage and persistent subsequent fistula up to 37 %. Inadequate incision, missed abscess components or fistulas can be the cause of recurrence . Surgical drainage is associated with discomfort from prolonged wound healing, affecting the daily activities as well as the potential risk of complicated scaring and fecal incontinence. Less invasive method with pus aspiration under antibiotic cover has been shown to be safe in terms of recurrence rate and subsequent fistula formation and well tolerated by the patients with less morbidity and wound complications and a potential lower risk of fecal incontinence. However, this has been shown only in few studies with small population and no randomized controlled study comparing the two approaches has been conducted or published to our knowledge. The risk factors of recurrence and subsequent fistula formation are not that clear but age below 40 years, absence of diabetes mellitus and recent smoking are shown to be risk factors for developing recurrent abscess and fistula. Applying aspiration and antibiotics method for the treatment of perianal abscess can be an advantage for the society due to a shorter recovering period, quicker return to daily activity and work and avoiding wound healing problems and sphincter damage; thus lower expenses. The results of this study have the potentials to reveal the risk factors of developing fistula after perianal abscess.

Aspiration of perianal abscess(MEDIPLAST® 13 G, 2,5 x 110 mm) under general anesthesia followed by antibiotic treatment with Clindamycin tablet 300 mg 3 times daily for 7 days

The aspiration drainage will be with a large caliber needle (MEDIPLAST® 13 G, 2,5 x 110 mm) and a syringe of 20 ml. The cavity must be emptied for pus and irrigated by repeated injection and aspiration of saline until clear fluid is obtained.

Incision drainage will be undertaken as standardized de-roofing of the abscess and debridement. Wound packing and dressing will not be used, just sitz bath or ordinary hygiene until wound healing.

Postoperative broad spectrum oral antibiotics covering both aerobes and anaerobes bacteria will be given for seven days of Clindamycin 300 mg tablets x 3 a day

risk factors for recurrences and fistula formation as; age, gender, BMI, smoking and alcohol use. Furthermore presence or absence of the following medical conditions: diabetes mellitus, ischemic cardiac disease, arrhythmia, hypertension, asthma/ COLD, connective tissue disease and renal function impairment. As well as the characteristics of perianal abscess: number of abscesses, localization, distance from anus in cm, largest diameter in cm, length of symptoms and use of antibiotics prior to admission. Finally bacterial culture.Risk factors of developing fistula after both treatments; both medical and abscess related will be analyzed using multivariate analysis.

time to recovery and wound healing after both procedures and it will be measured as the number of days between operation and healed wound.

Inclusion Criteria: ≥18 yrs old Perianal abscess (without spontaneous rupture) Abscess larger than 2 cm in diameter Signed informed consent Exclusion Criteria: Malignancy within 5 yrs Previous radiotherapy of the abdomen and pelvis Recurrent abscess within 6 months Immune suppressed patients Pregnant and lactating women Abscess with horseshoe formation Allergy to Clindamycin

Marcus RH, Stine RJ, Cohen MA. Perirectal abscess. Ann Emerg Med. 1995 May;25(5):597-603. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(95)70170-2.

Hamalainen KP, Sainio AP. Incidence of fistulas after drainage of acute anorectal abscesses. Dis Colon Rectum. 1998 Nov;41(11):1357-61; discussion 1361-2. doi: 10.1007/BF02237048.

Read DR, Abcarian H. A prospective survey of 474 patients with anorectal abscess. Dis Colon Rectum. 1979 Nov-Dec;22(8):566-8. doi: 10.1007/BF02587008.

Vasilevsky CA, Gordon PH. The incidence of recurrent abscesses or fistula-in-ano following anorectal suppuration. Dis Colon Rectum. 1984 Feb;27(2):126-30. doi: 10.1007/BF02553995.

Cox SW, Senagore AJ, Luchtefeld MA, Mazier WP. Outcome after incision and drainage with fistulotomy for ischiorectal abscess. Am Surg. 1997 Aug;63(8):686-9.

Chrabot CM, Prasad ML, Abcarian H. Recurrent anorectal abscesses. Dis Colon Rectum. 1983 Feb;26(2):105-8. doi: 10.1007/BF02562586.

Malik AI, Nelson RL, Tou S. Incision and drainage of perianal abscess with or without treatment of anal fistula. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Jul 7;(7):CD006827. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006827.pub2.

Rickard MJ. Anal abscesses and fistulas. ANZ J Surg. 2005 Jan-Feb;75(1-2):64-72. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2005.03280.x.

Beck DE, Fazio VW, Lavery IC, Jagelman DG, Weakley FL. Catheter drainage of ischiorectal abscesses. South Med J. 1988 Apr;81(4):444-6. doi: 10.1097/00007611-198804000-00008.

Kyle S, Isbister WH. Management of anorectal abscesses: comparison between traditional incision and packing and de Pezzer catheter drainage. Aust N Z J Surg. 1990 Feb;60(2):129-31.

Kronborg O, Olsen H. Incision and drainage v. incision, curettage and suture under antibiotic cover in anorectal abscess. A randomized study with 3-year follow-up. Acta Chir Scand. 1984;150(8):689-92.

Isbister WH. A simple method for the management of anorectal abscess. Aust N Z J Surg. 1987 Oct;57(10):771-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1987.tb01259.x.

Mortensen J, Kraglund K, Klaerke M, Jaeger G, Svane S, Bone J. Primary suture of anorectal abscess. A randomized study comparing treatment with clindamycin vs. clindamycin and Gentacoll. Dis Colon Rectum. 1995 Apr;38(4):398-401. doi: 10.1007/BF02054229.

Lohsiriwat V, Yodying H, Lohsiriwat D. Incidence and factors influencing the development of fistula-in-ano after incision and drainage of perianal abscesses. J Med Assoc Thai. 2010 Jan;93(1):61-5.

Devaraj B, Khabassi S, Cosman BC. Recent smoking is a risk factor for anal abscess and fistula. Dis Colon Rectum. 2011 Jun;54(6):681-5. doi: 10.1007/DCR.0b013e31820e7c7a.

Hamadani A, Haigh PI, Liu IL, Abbas MA. Who is at risk for developing chronic anal fistula or recurrent anal sepsis after initial perianal abscess? Dis Colon Rectum. 2009 Feb;52(2):217-21. doi: 10.1007/DCR.0b013e31819a5c52.

Smieja M. Current indications for the use of clindamycin: A critical review. Can J Infect Dis. 1998 Jan;9(1):22-8. doi: 10.1155/1998/538090.

Stevens DL, Bisno AL, Chambers HF, Everett ED, Dellinger P, Goldstein EJ, Gorbach SL, Hirschmann JV, Kaplan EL, Montoya JG, Wade JC; Infectious Diseases Society of America. Practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of skin and soft-tissue infections. Clin Infect Dis. 2005 Nov 15;41(10):1373-406. doi: 10.1086/497143. Epub 2005 Oct 14. No abstract available. Erratum In: Clin Infect Dis. 2005 Dec 15;41(12):1830. Clin Infect Dis. 2006 Apr 15;42(8):1219. Dosage error in article text.

Sorensen KM, Moller S, Qvist N. Needle aspiration treatment vs. incision of acute simple perianal abscess: randomized controlled study. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2021 Mar;36(3):581-588. doi: 10.1007/s00384-021-03845-6. Epub 2021 Jan 15.