Intermittent incomplete intestinal obstruction: a frequently mistaken entity. Ultrasonographic diagnosis and management.

Intermittent incomplete intestinal obstruction (IIIO) was diagnosed by sonography in 81 patients during the course of a study conducted from January 1984 to July 1988. The clinical presentation, history and characteristic sonographic findings are described. Successful conservative therapy was instituted in all patients based upon clinical and sonographic treatment response observations. Twenty-seven percent of patients returned with complete obstruction, necessitating surgery between 13 and 36 months later. Although conservative treatment uniformly renders relief from IIIO, elective surgery is indicated in patients whose IIIOs recur at progressively shorter intervals.