Champagne BJ, et al. Outcome of aggressive surveillance colonoscopy in ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. J Vasc Surg. 2004 Apr;39(4):792-6.
Purpose: Emergent repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAAs) is associated with high perioperative morbidity and mortality. One of the significant complications of this surgery is bowel ischemia. Reports detail mortality as high as 80% when this condition is realized. The objective of this project was to determine both the incidence and the effect of mandatory postoperative colonoscopy on outcome of colon ischemia after rAAA.
Methods: From July 1995 to September 2002 all patients with an rAAA who underwent emergent aortic reconstruction were included in this review. All colonoscopies were performed within 48 hours, ischemia was graded consistently, and treatment was initiated per protocol based on grade of ischemia. Patients with grades I and II ischemia were followed up with medical management and repeat colonoscopy. All patients with grade III ischemia underwent bowel resection. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables were collected to assess possible independent risk factors for and predictors of bowel ischemia.
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