Background: At the end of life, many cancer patients suffer from a syndrome that simulates classic small bowel obstruction. The traditional approach to intestinal obstruction is relief of pressure in the gastrointestinal tract using mechanical methods. The Medical Decompression(MD) protocol is a non-invasive pharmacologic approach for this problem that is easy and economical.
Methods: The study was done in a academic institution of central India from April 2019 to October 2019. It included 21 cases based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data regarding demographics, cancer diagnosis, existing drug history and diet history was collected and the sample was randomly divided into two groups: one received medical decompression and the other didn’t. The data was compared using t-tests on the outcome variable days to advanced diet.
Results: Out of 21 cases, 43% were males whereas 57% were females with a mean age of 66 years. About 30% of these had a pre-inserted NG tube. Around 19% of these were already on a clear liquid diet. Most men had colon cancer whereas most females had ovarian cancer. A mean of 1.1 doses and 3.8 days was taken to advance the diet. There was a statistically significant difference between the MD and the non MD group.
Conclusions: A pharmacologic method such as MD is strongly useful as first line treatments for the functional intestinal obstruction syndrome and indeed be considered as adjuncts to allow the removal of invasive mechanical interventions in the end of life patient.
Functional Intestinal Obstruction in the Neonate
