Evaluation of an improved ileus monitoring system for intestinal motility.

To observe the recovery of normal intestinal movement and the effects of peristalsis-promoting agents in patients with intestinal obstruction, an ileus monitoring system using the balloon method was simultaneously compared with that using the infusion method in 24 patients. To initiate the balloon ileus monitoring system, measurement was started at a setting of 0 after connecting a transducer to the balloon inflation channel of a decompression tube. The recording sensitivity was 20 mmHg/cm, and the speed of recording was 5 mm/min. The sensitivity of the infusion method was found to be 0.70 +/- 0.17 times that of the balloon method, and therefore the balloon method was considered to be more accurate. The findings of this study show how useful this ileus monitoring system is for observing the motility of intestinal obstruction.