Study of surgical management of intestinal obstruction from central India: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Intestinal obstruction is a common surgical emergency with high mortality and morbidity rates. About 15% of all emergency room visits for acute abdominal pain are due to intestinal obstruction. Acute intestinal obstruction may manifest in a variety of ways, from a relatively normal appearance with only minor abdominal pain and distension to a condition of hypovolemic or septic shock (or both) that necessitates an emergency procedure. In present study we aimed to evaluate surgical management of intestinal obstruction at our tertiary hospital. The current research included patients aged 21 to 80 who had an acute intestinal obstruction that was surgically treated. After initial resuscitation, patients with strong signs and symptoms of acute obstruction were treated with an appropriate surgical procedure. All of the information was recorded in a preformat and analyzed using descriptive statistics. 144 patients had surgery for acute intestinal obstruction during the study period. 51 to 60 years old was the most common age group (26 %), followed by 41 to 50 years old (21 %). In a ratio of 2.8:1, male patients were more frequently affected than female patients. Previous abdominal surgery (56 %), diabetes (31 %), smoking (25 %), hypertension (24 %), and bronchial asthma/ COPD (15 %) were all found to be common comorbidities in this research. Postoperative adhesions (47 %), malignancy (15 %), obstructed hernia (11 %), and Koch's abdomen were the most common causes of intestinal obstruction in this report (8 %). Adhesiolysis (47 %), resection and anastomosis (22 %), diversion colostomy (13 %), and hernioplasty were the most common surgical procedures in this study (11 %). The most common postoperative complications were fever (15%) and wound infection (11%) respectively. The post-operative mortality rate was 13%. (9 patients). Complications such as septicemia, peritonitis, and respiratory infection account for the majority of deaths. Intestinal obstruction is often caused by postoperative adhesions. Early operative procedures, in combination with clinical diagnosis and radiological findings, may enhance the outcome of acute intestinal obstruction.