Summary
Ischemic colitis must be considered in diagnosing the conditions of elderly patients who have lower abdominal pain and rectal bleeding. Barium-enema examination and angiography should confirm the diagnosis. Whether the ischemic colitis is occlusive or nonocclusive, treatment depends upon the condition of the patient. All patients thought to have ischemic colitis should be treated with antibiotics. If the clinical course is severe (gangrenous ischemic colitis), a laparotomy and resection should be done. If the clinical course is mild (transient ischemic colitis), no surgery is needed. Some patients who do not require surgical treatment early in the course of the disease later may develop stenosis and need such treatment because of the possibility that a carcinoma or largebowel obstruction has developed.
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Byrne, J.J., Wittenberg, J., Grimes, E.T. et al. Ischemic diseases of the bowel. Dis Colon Rectum 13, 283–289 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02617248
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02617248