Abstract
Abstract Aims Acute bowel obstruction is one of the commonest surgical emergencies posing various diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. A review of care titled ‘Delay in Transit’ by NCEPOD delineated inadequacies in the pathway of care for patients with acute bowel obstruction nationwide, highlighting areas of improvement. This audit aims to assess key elements of management pathway in our centre and compare it to national statistics. Methods A retrospective case note analysis was conducted for 24 randomly selected patients, aged above 15 years, admitted with a clinical diagnosis of acute bowel obstruction between December, 2018-December, 2019. Results Summary of some of NCEPOD recommendations, national and local performance The mean time to diagnosis was 8.5±6.6 hours, which was delayed if abdominal X-ray preceded the CT. Poor consultant review times may reflect failure to capture on records. Conclusion The management pathway, although faring well in some criteria, has scope for further improvement. Plans for an audit with a larger sample size will be implemented along with an enhanced pathway.
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