Laparoscopic management of adhesive small bowel obstruction

The objective of this review is to present a current opinion on the management of small-bowel obstruction. The topic is limited to small-bowel obstruction secondary to postoperative adhesions. Other causes of small-bowel obstruction are not addressed. We attempt to give readers a concise insight into the evidence available in the English language literature. This paper does not offer a comprehensive review of the topic; rather it highlights some relevant issues and then outlines what role, if any, laparoscopic surgery should play in the management of adhesive small-bowel obstruction.     

Challenges in diagnosing adhesive small bowel obstruction

Adhesive small bowel obstruction(ASBO)is the most frequently encountered surgical disorder of the small intestine.Up to 80%of ASBO cases resolve spontaneously and do not require invasive treatment.It is important to identify such patients that will benefit from conservative treatment in order to prevent unnecessarily exposing them to the risks associated with surgical intervention,such as morbidity and further adhesion formation.For the remaining ASBO patients,timely surgical intervention is necessary to prevent small bowel strangulation,which may cause intestinal ischemia and bowel necrosis.While early identification of these patients is key to decreasing ASBO-related morbidity and mortality,the non-specific signs and laboratory findings upon clinic presentation limit timely diagnosis and implementation of appropriate clinical management.Combining the clinical presentation findings with those from other diagnostic imaging modalities,such as abdominal X-ray,computed tomography-scan and water-soluble contrast studies,will improve diagnosis of ASBO and help clinicians to better evaluate the potential of conservative management as a safe strategy for a particular patient.Nonetheless,patients who present with moderate findings by all these approaches continue to represent a challenge.A new diagnostic strategy is urgently needed to further improve our ability to identify early signs of strangulated bowel,and this diagnostic modality should be able to indicate when surgical management is required.A number of potential serum markers have been proposed for this purpose,including intestinal fatty acid binding protein andα-glutathione S transferase.On-going research is attempting to clearly define their diagnostic utility and to optimize their potential role in determining which patients should be managed surgically.     

The value of contrast radiology for postoperative adhesive small bowel obstruction

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Contrast radiology predicts the outcome of treatment for patients with small bowel obstruction. The optimal method of contrast radiology to determine the indications for and timing of surgery is controversial. METHODOLOGY: Contrast radiology was performed for patients with postoperative adhesive small bowel obstruction between April 1, 2000 and March 31, 2001. Nearly 40 mL of gastrografin mixed with 40 mL of water was administered either orally or via a nasogastric tube to each patient within 24 hours of hospital admission. Serial erect and supine plain abdominal radiographs were taken 4, 8, 16 and 24 hour later. RESULTS: Of 107 patients with postoperative adhesive small bowel obstruction, 97 patients had the examination completed. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of this study as an indicator for non-operative treatment were 98.9%, 66.6%, 96.9%, 97.8% and 80%. However, contrast radiology had little impact on the diagnosis of 6 patients with strangulated small bowel obstruction. Ninety-two of 93 patients (98.9%) who were resolved with non-operative treatment were resolved within 48 hours of hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Contrast radiology should be considered for patients with simple small bowel obstruction who did not improve with non-operative measures after 48 hours of hospitalization.     

Warfarin-induced small bowel obstruction

We present a rare case of small bowel obstruction in a patient on long-term anticoagulation. A 53-year woman presented with abdominal pain and vomiting. She was on warfarin following aortic and mitral valve surgery. A small bowel follow through revealed jejunal narrowing consistent with a stricture. This probably was the result of submucosal bleeding because of over warfarinazation. The warfarin was stopped and she started on heparin with complete resolution of symptoms. This rare complication of anticoagulation should be considered in patients on warfarin. Early diagnosis is crucial as most patients are treated conservatively with very few patients requiring surgery.     

Knot formation in a long tube used in the treatment of a post-operative adhesive small bowel obstruction

The complications specific to the management of the nasointestinal long tubes for small bowel obstruction are not generally appreciated. We report here of a case of knot formation of the long tube which was inserted for a 60 year-old male. Because it was difficult to place the tube in the distal stomach despite frequent changes in patient position, two coiled loops were noted at the fornix as the tip of the tube reached the antrum. The tube was gently removed without injury to the esophagus or stomach under fluoroscopic control. This case illustrates that when a long tube is used, the formation of multiple coils in the stomach should be avoided during placement to prevent knotting. Furthermore, a knotted tube can be gently removed non-operatively without esophageal injury. A short tube may be superior to a long tube because most of the complications can be avoided.     

Value of gastrografin in adhesive small bowel obstruction after unsuccessful conservative treatment： A prospective evaluation

AIM: Gastrografin is a hyperosmolar water-soluble contrast medium. Besides its predictive value for the need for operative treatment, a potential therapeutic role of this agent in adhesive small bowel obstruction has been suggested. This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of gastrografin in adhesive small bowel obstruction when conservative treatment failed. METHODS: Patients with adhesive small bowel obstruction were given trial conservative treatment unless there was fear of bowel strangulation. Those responded in the initial 48 h had conservative treatment continued. Patients who showed no improvement in the initial 48 h were given 100 mL of gastrografin through nasogastric tube followed by serial abdominal radiographs. Patients with the contrast appeared in large bowel within 24 h were regarded as having partial obstruction and conservative treatment was continued. Patients in which the contrast failed to reach large bowel within 24 h were considered to have complete obstruction and laparotomy was performed. RESULTS: Two hundred and twelve patients with 245 episodes of adhesive obstruction were included. Fifteen patients were operated on soon after admission due to fear of strangulation. One hundred and eighty-six episodes of obstruction showed improvement in the initial 48 h and conservative treatment was continued. Two patients had subsequent operations because of persistent obstruction. Forty-four episodes of obstruction showed no improvement within 48 h and gastrografin was administered. Seven patients underwent complete obstruction surgery. Partial obstruction was demonstrated in 37 other cases, obstruction resolved subsequently in all of them except one patient who required laparotomy because of persistent obstruction. The overall operative rate in this study was 10%. There was no complication that could be attributed to the use of gastrografin. CONCLUSION: The use of gastrografin in adhesive small bowel obstruction after unsuccessful conservative treatment is safe and reduces the need for suraical intervention     

A seasonal variation in the onset of postoperative adhesive small bowel obstruction is related to changes in the climate

BACKGROUND: Postoperative small bowel obstruction following abdominal procedures is more common in patients who have undergone laparotomy. However, little is known about the influence of climate on the incidence of postoperative small bowel obstruction. METHODS: To evaluate whether seasonal climatic variations are a risk factor for postoperative small bowel obstruction, hospital-based, retrospective case series was designed from medical records of 230 patients suffering from postoperative small bowel obstruction admitted to the Tokyo University Branch Hospital. Detailed analysis of weather charts from the Japanese Meteorological Agency and review of medical records for selected patients who were diagnosed with postoperative small bowel obstruction. The obstruction was diagnosed by abdominal X-ray imaging, clinical examination, and patient interviews. RESULTS: A total of 233 patients diagnosed with postoperative small bowel obstruction were identified. Analysis of the medical records of these 233 patients revealed that the variables associated with an increased risk of postoperative small bowel obstruction included low ambient temperatures of 5-10 degrees C, an increase in air humidity by 40-50% and air pressure of 1010-1015 hPa. CONCLUSION: The typical winter weather in Tokyo is characterised by low temperatures, low humidity and moderate air pressure. These winter climate conditions could be correlated with an increased incidence of postoperative small bowel obstruction in Tokyo during our period.     

Efficacy and timing of gastrografin administration after ileus tube insertion in patients with adhesive small bowel obstruction

Background and study aimsGastrografin administration (GA) is performed for adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) in cases when decompression therapy using an ileus tube fails to relieve the obstruction. This study evaluated the efficacy of GA and optimized its timing after ileus tube insertion.Patients and methodsIn this retrospective study, we evaluated data from patients with ASBO admitted between January 2014 and August 2018 and included patients who underwent ileus tube intubation and GA. The patients were classified as those treated with GA within 48 h after admission (early GA [EGA]) and those treated later with GA (delayed GA [DGA]). Propensity score matching was performed to compensate for differences between the groups. Short-term outcomes were compared between the two groups.ResultsWe included 67 and 80 patients in the EGA and DGA groups, respectively, and 55 pairs with similar background characteristics were matched. The rates of successful conservative management were 87.3% (48/55) in the EGA group, 96.4% (53/55) in the DGA group, and 91.8% (101/110) in the entire sample. The median period of ileus tube insertion in the DGA group was significantly lower than that in the EGA group, whereas other outcomes did not significantly differ between the groups. Aspiration pneumonia occurred in one patient in the EGA group.ConclusionsGA with an ileus tube achieved a high rate of successful conservative management. Follow-up using decompression with an ileus tube for at least 48 h after admission is recommended in patients with ASBO.     

A prospective randomized trial of transnasal ileus tube vs nasogastric tube for adhesive small bowel obstruction

AIM:To study the therapeutic efficacy of a new transnasal ileus tube advanced endoscopically for adhesive small bowel obstruction.METHODS:A total of 186 patients with adhesive small bowel obstruction treated from September 2007 to February 2011 were enrolled into this prospective randomized controlled study.The endoscopically advanced new ileus tube was used for gastrointestinal decompression in 96 patients and ordinary nasogastric tube(NGT) was used in 90 patients.The therapeutic efficacy was compared between the two groups.RESULTS:Compared with the NGT group,the ileus tube group experienced significantly shorter time for relief of clinical symptoms and improvement in the findings of abdominal radiograph(4.1 ± 2.3 d vs 8.5 ± 5.0 d) and laboratory tests(P 0.01).The overall effectiveness rate was up to 89.6% in the ileus tube group and 46.7% in the NGT group(P 0.01).And 10.4% of the patients in the ileus tube group and 53.3% of the NGT group underwent surgery.For recurrent adhesive bowel obstruction,ileus tube was also significantly more effective than NGT(95.8% vs 31.6%).In the ileus tube group,the drainage output on the first day and the length of hospital stay were significantly different depending on the treatment success or failure(P 0.05).The abdominal radiographic improvement was correlated with whether or not the patient underwent surgery.CONCLUSION:Ileus tube can be used for adhesive small bowel obstruction.Endoscopic placement of the ileus tube is convenient and worthy to be promoted despite the potential risks.     

Effect of laser acupuncture on adhesive small bowel obstruction: A prospective double-blind randomized controlled trial

Background:Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) is one of the most common complications and is a major cause of re-admission after intra-abdominal surgery. The initial management of patients with ASBO is nonoperative treatment such as nil per os and decompression using a nasogastric tube. However, the ideal management of ASBO remains controversial.Methods:This study will be a prospective, single-center, double-blind randomized controlled trial. Ninety two participants diagnosed with ASBO will be randomly assigned to either the verum or the sham laser acupuncture (SLA) group in a 1:1 ratio. All participants will undergo laser acupuncture (LA) or SLA once a day on 6 acupoints (LI4, PC6, ST25, ST36, CV4 and CV12) for 6 consecutive days after enrollment. The primary outcome measure will be the success rate of conservative treatment for ASBO. Secondary outcomes will be time to oral intake and length of hospital stay. The serum levels of lipase, amylase, cortisol, motilin, ghrelin, and intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) will also be measured before intervention, on day 4, and on the day of discharge, respectively. Data will be analyzed by Chi-Squared test or t test between 2 groups.Objectives:The aim of this protocol is to investigate the clinical efficacy of LA on ASBO.Trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT04318821","term_id":"NCT04318821"}}NCT04318821. Registered on 24 March 2020.     

Deflated intragastric balloon-induced small bowel obstruction

We describe the rare case of a 49-year-old man who had an air-filled intragastric balloon placed for weight control 11 months ago which had been lost of sight for follow-up and presented six months after the last radiologic control with acute small bowel obstruction. Computed tomography confirmed the migration of the deflated balloon in the small bowel. It was impacted in the ileum so an enterostomy-suture was performed for removal. Intragastric balloons are temporarily used to obtain weight reduction in the super-obese prior to bariatric surgery and in patients who are not fit for surgery. They were shown to be effective in restoring the metabolic syndrome as well. The use of fluid-filled balloons seems preferable for early migration diagnosis and management. If the intragastric balloon remains inside longer than recommended, it tends to deflate and is prone for migration and intestinal obstruction. Follow-up investigations (monthly X-rays) are mandatory for early migration diagnosis.     

Chemotherapy induced small bowel obstruction in small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related death in men and the second cause in women worldwide. We describe a case of a 51- year old lady with small cell lung cancer who developed small bowel obstruction following chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide. Abdominal CT scan showed changes confined to the jejunum and proximal ileum with diffuse mural thickening and hyper-attenuation of the mucosa with sparing of the terminal ileum, caecum and colon. Her condition improved with conservative management and intravenous antibiotics.