A 52-year-old man is admitted to the intensive care unit with severe acute gallstone pancreatitis. Over the past 48 hours, he has required aggressive intravenous crystalloid resuscitation for hemodynamic instability. He is mechanically ventilated. The nurse alerts the physician that the patient has become increasingly difficult to ventilate, with peak airway pressures rising from 25 to 45 cm H2O. Urine output over the last 4 hours is 30 mL. Physical examination reveals a tense, massively distended abdomen. Bladder pressure measurement reveals an intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) of 28 mmHg. Arrange the following management steps in the most appropriate sequential order, proceeding from initial, least-invasive measures to definitive interventions.
- 1Maximize medical management (e.g., initiate neuromuscular blockade) to improve abdominal wall compliance.
- 2Perform bedside percutaneous drainage of intra-abdominal ascites or inflammatory fluid collections.
- 3Perform a decompressive midline laparotomy for refractory intra-abdominal hypertension.
- 4Apply a temporary abdominal closure device (e.g., negative-pressure wound therapy) over the open abdomen.
- 5Perform definitive delayed primary fascial closure once the visceral edema has completely resolved.