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. 2005 May;43(2):34, 36.

Spectrum of causes of intestinal obstruction in adult Nigerian patients

Oladejo O Lawal  1 , Olaniyi S Olayinka, John O Bankole
Affiliations
  • PMID: 16035380

Spectrum of causes of intestinal obstruction in adult Nigerian patients

Oladejo O Lawal et al. S Afr J Surg. 2005 May.

Abstract

Objective: To present changes in the cause of intestinal obstruction in an African setting.

Design: Consecutive cases of acute intestinal obstruction from 1985 to 1994.

Setting: Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Subjects: Adult patients with clinical and radiological evidence of intestinal obstruction.

Results: There were 99 patients (60 males) aged 15 - 101 years (mean age 45 years). The majority of patients were young and middle-aged adults. Main causes of obstruction included adhesion (N = 44), volvulus (N =15), external hernias (N = 11), colorectal carcinoma (N = 10) and intussusception (N = 8). Approximately two-thirds of patients (28/44) with adhesion had had previous abdominal operations. The overall mortality was 14%, mainly owing to strangulation obstruction and colonic malignancy.

Conclusions: The increasing role of adhesions as a cause of acute intestinal obstruction demands greater need for routine preventive measures against adhesion formation.

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