Acute intestinal ischemia—a rare and underestimated complication in thermally injured patients

Abstract

Acute intestinal ischemia represents a rare but often fatal disease. In retrospective analysis, up to 86% with this complication had a prior history of cardiovascular disease (Irvinen et al. Ann Chir Gynaecol 83:22-25, 1994). It is also a rare but well-known complication in severe thermally injured patients. Here, we describe our experience with this disease in our critically ill patients suffering from acute thermal injury. In a retrospective analysis of 634 patients who were treated at our burn care center, three patients were identified with intestinal ischemia. Two patients with non-occlusive disease during continuous veno-venous hemofiltration died, while one patient with arterial embolism in a superior mesenteric artery branch survived. Acute intestinal ischemia is a severe and life-threatening complication in thermally injured patients. It can occur even days after the acute trauma and diagnostic criteria are often insecure.