How to Diagnose an Obstructed Bowel

An obstructed bowel refers to a purely mechanical blockage in most English-speaking countries. In other parts of Europe, however, the term also includes a lack of bowel movement due to peritonitis or surgery. A bowel obstruction with a mechanical cause may be intra-luminal, extrinsic or the result of lesions in the wall of the bowel.

Instructions

• 1

  Observe the common symptoms of an obstructed bowel. They include abdominal pain, complete constipation, vomiting and possibly abdominal distention.

• 2

  Look for symptoms to indicate the specific source of obstruction. Patients with a simple obstruction may experience pain that is intermittent and initially mild but becomes more common and severe. They frequently assume a fetal position and roll around.

• 3

  Interpret an early onset of vomiting as a sign of proximal small bowel obstruction (SBO). Vomiting tends to be delayed in cases of a distal obstruction and will initially consist of gastric juice, followed by bile and finally small bowel content.

• 4

  Take a plain x-ray as the first imaging study in cases where an SBO is suspected. A bowel larger than 3 centimeters in diameter is frequently caused by an obstruction. The sensitivity of x-rays in the diagnosis of SBO is 50 to 66 percent.

• 5

  Combine the x-ray results with the clinical history, physical and laboratory examinations. A diagnosis of SBO can be made in most cases despite the limited sensitivity of x-rays. Additional imaging studies may be required in rare cases.