| Management of chronic radiation enteritis Chronic
radiation enteritis is a fearful complication of abdominal and pelvic
radiotherapy. The pathogenesis is still unclear and the management is
difficult and often controversial. Clinical manifestations range from
simple malabsorption to bleeding, fistulae and perforation. The alteration
of intestinal transit with mechanical obstruction is the most common
clinical sign. In the past all patients were surgically treated, however
surgery is not always successful and it has an high morbidity and
mortality. An alternative is a conservative approach with bowel rest and
long term parenteral nutrition. In our study we retrospectively analyzed long term out come of patients with mechanical bowel obstruction due to chronic radiation enteritis. Often both treatment are necessary, but data shows that a conservative approach can be successful in more than half of the patients and long term survival is significantly higher in patients initially treated with bowel rest and supported with home parenteral nutrition.
Bibliographical reference:
Cecilia Gavazzi Clinical Nutrition Unit, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milano, Italy
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