Partial bowel obstruction: causes, symptoms and treatments

2024 Author: Curtis Blomfield | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 20:44

One of the most dangerous pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract is partial intestinal obstruction. In the absence of proper therapy, a variety of complications develop, moreover, the onset of death is not excluded.

The main symptom of the pathology is severe pain, reminiscent of contractions. In some cases, pain increases gradually. Know the symptoms of a partial bowel obstruction and seek immediate medical attention if you experience them.

Features of pathology

In case of intestinal obstruction (ICD 10) there is a blockage of the intestine, as a result of which the movement of its contents to the anus is blocked. As a result, emptying is difficult. There is a formation of fecal blockages. Accurately determine the clinical picture allows a sharp deterioration in the general condition. The normal mode of emptying in humans is considered to beat least once a day.

Intestinal obstruction can occur under the influence of various factors. Mechanical ones imply a change in the location of the caecum, the appearance of pockets inside the abdominal cavity, and an adhesive process. Similar phenomena are often observed in elderly patients. Functional obstruction can develop as a result of a sharp transition to the consumption of vegetables and fruits, overeating after a long diet, when transferring a newborn to a mixed diet if his age is less than a year.

Partial bowel obstruction is usually caused by:

1. Turn of the intestines.
2. The appearance of strands in the peritoneum.
3. Narrowing of the intestinal lumen.
4. Cut off the intestines.
5. Examples of invagination.
6. Gallstones.
7. Presence of congenital intestinal defects.
8. Changing the location of organs in the abdominal cavity.
9. Hernias.
10. Tumor formations of a malignant nature.
11. Hematomas.
12. Inflammation.
13. Worm infestations.

Also partial intestinal obstruction can be provoked:

1. Local paralysis.
2. Hirschsprung's pathology.
3. Problems with intestinal motility.
4. Spasms.

Symptoms of the disease

The main signs of partial intestinal obstruction are as follows:

1. Difficult exit of feces, gases.
2. Persistent nausea, vomiting.
3. The emergence of disgust wheneating.
4. Due to fecal blockages, flatulence often occurs.
5. Alternating diarrhea and constipation.
6. Bloating, strong overstrain of the abdominal muscles.
7. A sharp onset of pain in the navel or in the pit of the stomach, lasting about 10 minutes. In some situations, the pain bothers the patient constantly.

Normally, gurgling sounds are present in the peritoneum. If they are not present at all, and emptying is irregular, it can be concluded that intestinal motility is impaired.

Vomiting

After 2-3 days, the pain subsides even in the absence of qualified help. This condition suggests that intestinal motility has deteriorated. At the same time, bilious vomiting occurs several times a day, which cannot be stopped by any means.

First, undigested food remains, and then a greenish-brown liquid mixed with bile. A day later, the stool may be completely absent, the feces stop moving away.

If the patient does not seek medical help in a timely manner, he has a noticeable drop in blood pressure, increased heart rate, and the development of a state of shock. Similar symptoms are due to significant losses of beneficial electrolytes and fluids due to incessant vomiting. And the stagnation of the contents in the intestine leads to the release of toxins. The patient in this case requires immediate medical attention.

Symptoms in adults and treatment of bowel obstruction are interrelated.

Other signs

Symptomatology that occurs in differentpatients, may vary depending on the class of obstruction formed.

If the problem is caused by adhesions, neoplasms are detected in the peritoneum. A similar process may be due to:

1. Bleeding.
2. Physical trauma to the peritoneum.
3. Peritonitis.

Spikes

Adhesions can form in different parts of the intestine. In some cases, adhesion of the omentum and scar occurs as a result of surgical operations.

The resulting adhesions inhibit peristalsis. Obstruction can be of several types:

1. Strangulation. In this case, the mesentery is involved in the process, hypodynamic disorders develop, the general condition worsens, cell death or peritonitis occurs.
2. Otrubation. In this case, the symptoms occur abruptly, develop rapidly.
3. Mixed. Combines the signs inherent in the first two types of obstruction.

Partial obstruction

This disorder is usually chronic. Patients are often concerned about bowel obstruction, gas, pain, and vomiting.

Symptoms of a partial obstruction are mild and can usually be managed at home with diet and laxatives.

Patients note that the symptoms of the pathology are observed in them for several years, and the manifestations become more frequent if the tumor growsprocesses.

In some cases, the blockage is replaced by diarrhea. The stools may smell rotten, with large amounts of fluid passing out at the same time.

Very often, partial flows into full, accompanied by acute symptoms. It is important to identify the causes of partial intestinal obstruction.

Disorders of the small intestine

Often, obstruction begins to develop in the small intestine. The main symptoms of pathology are the appearance of a protrusion on the abdomen. The place of its localization, as a rule, is slightly higher than the place where the blockage of the intestine occurred.

Such disorders appear as a result of obstructive phenomena in the small intestine. Patients have the following symptoms:

1. Epigastric colic.
2. Nausea.
3. Gases.
4. Lack of desire to eat.

Disorders in the large intestine

A common problem is an obstruction in the large intestine. It is accompanied by the following symptoms:

1. Deterioration of appetite.
2. Vomiting.
3. Tension in the peritoneum.
4. Pain that feels like contractions.
5. No gas release.
6. Bloating.
7. Difficult or no bowel movements.

Obstruction of the large intestine can also be complete or partial. If the symptoms worsen, there is a risk of acute intoxication. The patient has a deterioration in metabolism, inflammation in the abdominal cavity, bloating.

Diagnosing the problem

The main way to diagnose these disorders is through an examination using a variety of medical instruments. Before using them, specialists carry out certain preparatory procedures:

1. Examination of the patient, palpation of the peritoneum to determine the intensity of symptoms. With the help of a digital examination, cavities in the rectum are identified.
2. Acquaintance with the anamnesis, the patient's medical record. This is necessary to accurately determine the pathology.

The following instrumental methods are most often used:

1. X-ray examination. Needed to identify specific symptoms.
2. Colonoscopy. Allows you to study the condition of the mucous lining of the intestine with a probe.
3. Ultrasound. It is the main method for determining the diagnosis.
4. CT. Required for detailed bowel examination.

After receiving the results of the study, the specialist determines the necessary method of therapy and decides on the need for surgical intervention.

Therapy

Any medical procedures for partial intestinal obstruction should be performed under the supervision of a specialist, that is, in a hospital. To begin with, the patient is prescribed conservative therapy.

Usually:

1. Intravenous drugs to change the water-s alt balance.
2. Drugs that improve motor skillsdigestive tract.
3. Anspasmodics. These medications are needed to stop pain symptoms.
4. Laxatives for partial bowel obstruction

Conservative therapy also includes enemas, which speed up the process of bowel cleansing using probes inserted through the mouth.

In cases where the treatment of intestinal obstruction at home does not give the desired result, the patient is prescribed surgery, during which a part of the intestine (another damaged organ) is cut out and an anastomosis is applied. If intussusception is the cause of the obstruction, a procedure is performed to correct the problem manually or with balloons. If the disorder is provoked by adhesive disease, a dissecting laparoscopy is performed.

Partial obstruction in the large intestine, provoked by an oncological neoplasm, is eliminated by resection of the damaged area and removal of its fragment to the anterior wall of the peritoneum. This technique makes emptying easier.

Also, obstruction is treated with diets and folk remedies. But such methods must be agreed with specialists.

With a partial form of obstruction, treatment with methods from the arsenal of traditional medicine helps:

• 0, 5 kg of pitted plums pour a liter of water, boil for an hour, cool and drink half a glass three times a day.
• 1 kg of sea buckthorn crush, pour boiled chilled water in the amount of 0.7 l, mix. Squeeze the juice and take half a glass once a day.
• Mix 20 dried apricots, 10 tbsp. l. raisins, 10 pieces of figs and prunes. Pour boiling water, rinse, twist. Eat a tablespoon on an empty stomach.
• Heat half a glass of milk, add 20 g of butter. Lie on your left side and inject the solution like a regular enema. Do the procedure three days in a row a couple of hours before bedtime.
• Herbs such as senna and buckthorn, which have a laxative effect, may relieve but not cure the disease.

Surgical technique

During surgery, the following procedures are carried out:

1. Intravenous antibiotic before surgery.
2. Organs or substances that prevent the passage of stool must be removed. If surgery is performed on the small intestine, the specialist performs a resection to restore full obstruction. In some situations, the operation is carried out in several stages.
3. Remove all dying areas of the intestine should be completely. In these situations, the main thing is the complete removal of dead tissue.

In pathologies of other types, patency is restored by installing a probe, using pharmacological agents. Barium-based enemas are given to pediatric patients with intussusception.

Most often there is intestinal obstruction in the elderly. But the development of pathology in infants is also possible.

In babies

This condition is very dangerous for newborns. Due toit is usually neurohumoral or mechanical factors. A disorder of a congenital nature will make itself felt immediately.

Contribute to obstruction:

1. Ledd's disease.
2. The pressure of the caecum on the duodenum.
3. Intestinal volvulus.

Also causing obstruction constipation can occur with cystic fibrosis. This congenital disorder can be acute, chronic relapsing.

The following symptoms are observed:

1. Greyish skin tone.
2. Lack of appetite in a newborn, capriciousness.
3. Upper bloating.
4. Severe dehydration and consequent weight loss.
5. Biliary vomiting after eating.

Thus, the symptoms of intestinal obstruction are a reason for an urgent visit to a specialist. Otherwise, serious complications are possible.

We covered the symptoms and treatment of bowel obstruction in adults and children.