“An observational study of intestinal obstruction in adults”

Abstract

Background: Mechanical intestinal obstruction is a common surgical emergency. The causes of intestinal obstruction include hernias, postoperative adhesions, malignancy, strictures etc. The etiology of this condition varies in different parts of the world and within same country. Methods: This prospective descriptive study was conducted in department of surgery at a tertiary care teaching hospital. All the adult patients, irrespective of sex with diagnosis of dynamic intestinal obstruction undergoing exploratory laparotomy were included in the study. Laparotomy findings were recorded and in the postoperative period patients were followed up for detection of complications and treatment. Results:45 patients were treated for mechanical intestinal obstruction. Mean age was 49.5 years and male to female ratio was 1.81:1. Most common cause of small bowel obstruction is Small bowel adhesions i.e. 13 patients (39.39%) ; while the most common cause of large bowel obstruction is malignancy arising from different parts of large bowel i.e. 66.67% of patients (8 patients) Wound infection was the commonest postoperative complication. There were 12 deaths in this study giving mortality rate of 26.6%. Conclusions: Bowel Adhesion is the leading causes of mechanical intestinal obstruction in our region.