Factors influencing the treatment of intra-abdominal abscesses.

Forty-eight consecutive patients with 68 intra-abdominal abscesses who had operative or radiologic attempts at drainage were analyzed. Patients who had radiologic drainage were older and had simple abscesses more often. Simple abscesses were treated successfully in a high percentage of patients using both operation and radiologic drainage. Mortality was higher for patients with complex abscesses, and most of these patients required operative treatment. Successful abscess resolution was eventually achieved in 79 percent of patients.