Spectrum of causes of intestinal obstruction in adult Nigerian patients.

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.