Factors affecting the early mortality of patients with nontraumatic colorectal perforation.

Purpose: We attempted to identify the factors associated with the early mortality of patients with nontraumatic colorectal perforation.

Methods: Eighty patients who underwent surgery for nontraumatic colorectal perforation between May 1986 and December 1999 were retrospectively reviewed. Age, sex, cause of perforation, duration of symptoms, associated preoperative septic shock, concomitant disorders (including cardiac disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hemodialysis, and steroid treatment), operative findings (such as the site of perforation and the degree of peritonitis), and results of preoperative laboratory blood tests (such as the white blood cell count and platelet count) were analyzed for their association with early outcome using univariate and multivariate analyses.

Hepatic portal venous gas caused by blunt abdominal trauma: is it a true ominous sign of bowel necrosis? Report of a case.

A case of transient portal venous gas in the liver following blunt abdominal trauma is described. Computed tomography (CT) demonstrated hepatic portal venous gas 4 h after the injury. An exploratory laparotomy revealed segmental necrosis of the small intestine with a rupture of the bladder.