Diagnostic peritoneal lavage: fourteen years and 2,586 patients later.

During a fourteen year period, diagnostic peritoneal lavage was 98.5 per cent accurate in determining the presence or absence of blunt intraabdominal injuries among 2,586 patients. Of these, 69.4 per cent had a negative lavage and 29.2 per cent a positive lavage. Six patients (0.2 per cent) had a false-positive lavage. Thirty-two patients (1.2 per cent) had a false-negative lavage; however, all but one of these patients underwent exploratory laparotomy on the basis of clinical acumen or other diagnostic tests.