• Laura Mora López, Xavier Serra-Aracil, Heura Llaquet Bayo, and Salvador Navarro Soto.
• Servicio de Cirugía General y del Aparato Digestivo, Corporació Sanitària i Universitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España. Lmora@tauli.cat
• Cir Esp. 2013 Jun 1; 91 (6): 384-8.

BackgroundAdhesions are the most important cause of intestinal obstruction. Approximately 25% of surgical admissions for acute abdominal conditions are due to intestinal obstruction. Better diagnostic and treatment methods of intestinal obstruction could potentially reduce mortality rate to 5-10%. Gastrografin(®) could contribute to this achieve this.AimTo present a protocol to treat adhesion intestinal obstruction with Gastrografin(®) that is safe, and allows shorter hospital stays and shorter time between admission and surgery.Material And MethodsAll patients with adhesion intestinal obstruction without symptoms of strangulation were treated with Gastrografin(®), intravenous fluids and nasogastric tube. Those in whom contrast reach the colon in 8, 12 or 24hours were considered to have partial obstruction, and were fed orally. If Gastrografin(®) failed in the following 24hours, a laparotomy was performed.ResultsOut of a total of 211 episodes (164 patients), 170 episodes received contrast and in 142 cases Gastrografin(®) reached the colon (104 episodes at 8h, 11 at 12h, and 27 at 24h). A laparotomy was required in 28 patients because of failed treatment, and in another 5 for other causes.ConclusionsA management protocol for adhesion intestinal obstruction with Gastrografin(®) is safe, reduces morbidity and mortality, and leads to a shorter hospital stay.Copyright © 2012 AEC. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

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