J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2005 Feb;16(1):6-10.

The Efficacy of Early Computed Tomography in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Bowel Obstruction

• Rho JY
• Cho SJ
• Lee SL
• Ryu SY
• Kim HY
• Kim SJ

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of early computed tomography in the diagnosis and treatment of bowel obstruction.
METHODS
The medical records of 108 patients who underwent CT for clinically suspected bowel obstruction were reviewed retrospectively. We compared the emergency department (ED) stay time, the rate of emergent operation, and the days of hospital treatment between two groups. Group 1 have underwent CT within 3 hours, group 2 have done after 3 hours from arrival.
RESULTS
After the abdominal CT, Mean ED stay time was shortened significantly. The mean ED stay time was 8.1 hours in Group 1 (n=58), and 18.0 hours in Group 2 (n=50). But We failed to reveal that the early CT is beneficial to emergent operation and total hospital time for bowel obstruction.
CONCLUSION
In patients suspected bowel obstruction, Early CT is helpful for diagnosis, treatment and can shorten the ED stay time.

Keyword

Intestines; Intestinal obstruction; Computed tomography

MeSH Terms

Diagnosis*
Emergency Service, Hospital
Humans
Intestinal Obstruction
Intestines
Medical Records
Retrospective Studies
Tomography, X-Ray Computed