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Case: High Grade Bowel Obstruction

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Now let's bring up another similar study,

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but a little bit different as well.

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So here again, we have a patient

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who has a small bowel obstruction.

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You can see these dilated loops of small bowel

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throughout the abdomen, but now we're seeing

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that fecalization of multiple small bowel loops.

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Also noticing here along the liver's edge, you

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can see a small volume of ascites as well.

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So when you come down, you're going to

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be looking for the obstructive point.

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You can see that there is abrupt narrowing

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here in this level of the small bowel.

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Where the small bowel goes from dilated and

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feces-filled to abruptly decompressed.

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So this is again, a small bowel obstruction.

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I would call this a higher grade small bowel

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obstruction given the degree of small bowel

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feces sign, the dilated loops of small bowel,

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the fact that there's much more mesenteric fluid

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here, and that there's also free ascites as well.

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So this is a simple obstruction 'cause it's

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only a single point of obstruction, probably

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secondary to an adhesion in the pelvis.

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Resulting in at least moderate

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to a high grade obstruction.

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So this may be less likely to be treated

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conservatively, but I think most of our small

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bowel obstructions, at least they try an NG-tube

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decompression and attempt at a conservative management.

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But they should be wary of this patient and watch

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them closely because of the degree of obstruction.

Report

Faculty

Laura L Avery, MD

Assistant Professor of Emergency Radiology Harvard Medical School

Massachusetts General Hosptial

Tags

Small Bowel

Gastrointestinal (GI)

Emergency

CT

Body

Acquired/Developmental