Fig. 2

Patient selection and subgroup definition. 497 patients undergoing source control surgery (SCS) for secondary peritonitis due to gastrointestinal (GI) perforation or suture leakage were screened for study inclusion. 187 patients for whom SCS consisted of primary reconstruction of the lower GI integrity were included in the study. Two patient subgroups were defined, based on whether the enteric sutures placed during SCS remained intact (140 patients) or developed a leakage (47 patients)