RISK FACTORS FOR REOPERATION, MORBIDITY, AND MORTALITY IN PATIENTS WITH SMALL BOWEL OBSTRUCTION SUBMITTED TO SURGICAL TREATMENT.

AIM

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a frequent cause of emergency department admissions. This study aimed to determine risk factors of reoperations, postoperative adverse event, and operative mortality (OM) in patients surgically treated for SBO.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study conducted between 2014 and 2017. Exclusion criteria include gastric outlet obstruction, large bowel obstruction, and incomplete clinical record. STATA version 14 was used for statistical analysis, with p-value <0.05 with 95% confidence interval considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

A total of 218 patients were included, in which 61.9% were women. Notably, 88.5% of patients had previous abdominal surgery. Intestinal resection was needed in 28.4% of patients. Postoperative adverse event was present in 28.4%, reoperation was needed in 9.2% of cases, and a 90-day surgical mortality was 5.9%. Multivariate analysis determined that intestinal resection, >3 days in intensive care unit (ICU), >7 days with nasogastric tube (NGT), pain after postoperative day 3, POAE, and surgical POAE were the risk factors for reoperations, while age, C-reactive protein, intestinal resection, >3 days in ICU, and >7 days with NGT were the risk factors for POAE. OM was determined by >5 days with NGT and POAE.

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative course is determined mainly for patient's age, preoperative level of C-reactive protein, necessity of intestinal resection, clinical postoperative variables, and the presence of POAE.