Change in Mechanical Bowel Obstruction Demographic and Etiological Patterns During the Past Century

Abstract

To compare epidemiological analysis concerning sex, age, location of blockage, and frequency of occurrence of etiological factors in 2 groups of patients treated for mechanical bowel obstruction 100 years apart. Design: Epidemiological analysis of patients undergoing an operation for small-bowel obstruction (SBO) or large-bowel obstruction (LBO) from 1868 to 1898 (group 1) and from 2000 to 2003 (group 2). Setting: Second Clinic of Surgery of the Jagiellonian University Medical College. Patients: One hundred ninety-three patients in group 1 and 207 in group 2. Main Outcome Measure: Change in demographic and etiological patterns of mechanical bowel obstruction during the past 100 years. Results: In both groups, the prevalence of bowel obstruction was similar in particular segments of the intestine (approximately 75% for SBO and 25% for LBO). The primary cause of SBO in group 2 remained incarcerated abdominal hernia (30.8% for group 1 compared with 55.0%). The second most common cause of SBO was intraperitoneal adhesions (29.4% compared with 34.4%). Isolated small-bowel volvulus as the cause of bowel obstruction decreased significantly (PՅ.05) (16.8% compared with 2.7%). Significant changes were also observed in the etiology of LBO. A century ago, the most common cause was volvulus of the sigmoid colon or of the cecum (72.0%); in the later group, obstruction was caused by cancer in 80.4% of cases. Conclusions: During the past 100 years, no changes were observed concerning the location of bowel obstruction or the patients' sex. Etiological factors in SBO and LBO changed significantly. The age of surgical patients also increased significantly.

Etiology, Management, and Survival of Acute Mechanical Bowel Obstruction: Five-Year Results of A Training and Research Hospital in Turkey

“…The proportion of males has been greater than that of females in some studies (51.8% to 74%), [5,9,10] but in other research the female proportion was greater (60%). [3,8] Pędziwiatr et al [8] noted that the female proportion increased from 47.8% to 60.2% over time.…”

Urinary retention presenting as complete bowel obstruction

“…1 Colonic obstruction mostly occurs in elderly patients, due to the higher incidence of main causative factors in this age group. Typically, patients present with inability to pass stool and gas for several days, colicky abdominal pain, abdominal distension, and vomiting.…”

Association of decreased variation of coefficient R–R interval with ischemic colitis and small bowel obstruction

“…BO is another gastrointestinal emergency, with a 75% incidence in the small intestine; in such cases, it is known as small intestinal obstruction (SBO). BO is divided into the following two types: (1) mechanical, which is caused by adhesion after surgeries and (2) non-mechanical [18]. The application of a colonoscopy is limited based on the location of BO, especially in SBO.…”

“…The application of a colonoscopy is limited based on the location of BO, especially in SBO. Accordingly, CT is commonly used for diagnosis [3,13,18,19].…”