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==General== | ==General== | ||
*Radiologic/[[clinical diagnosis]]. | *Radiologic/[[clinical diagnosis]]. | ||
*The conventional thinking is ''the sun should never set on a SBO in a virgin abdomen'', i.e. a laparotomy is required to assess and exclude serious pathology. | |||
**Approximately 10% of virgin (or previously unoperated) abdomens (in a series from 2014) had an unknown malignancy as the underlying cause.<ref name=pmid24565365>{{Cite journal | last1 = Beardsley | first1 = C. | last2 = Furtado | first2 = R. | last3 = Mosse | first3 = C. | last4 = Gananadha | first4 = S. | last5 = Fergusson | first5 = J. | last6 = Jeans | first6 = P. | last7 = Beenen | first7 = E. | title = Small bowel obstruction in the virgin abdomen: the need for a mandatory laparotomy explored. | journal = Am J Surg | volume = 208 | issue = 2 | pages = 243-8 | month = Aug | year = 2014 | doi = 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2013.09.034 | PMID = 24565365 }}</ref> | |||
The usual causes of bowel obstruction (large & small) are (mnemonic) ''SHAVING'': | The usual causes of bowel obstruction (large & small) are (mnemonic) ''SHAVING'': |
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