Abstract:
Background. Intestinal obstruction (IO) is one of the most common acute abdominal disorders that often requires emergency
surgical management in the hospital setting. However, the surgical management sometimes ends with unfavorable outcomes
characterized by fatal and nonfatal postoperative complications. Aim. *e aim of this study was to analyze the surgical management
outcome of IO and its associated factors among surgically treated patients for intestinal obstruction at the University of
Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UGCSH), Ethiopia, 2018. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study was
conducted among patients who were surgically treated for IO during the last 3 years at the UGCSH. *e patient participants were
selected using a systematic random sampling technique. A structured research tool was used to collect all the necessary data from
the patients’ medical records. *e data were analyzed by using SPSS version 21. Frequencies with percentages were used to
describe the surgical management outcome of IO. *e binary logistic regression model was used to explore the determinant
factors associated with the surgical management outcome of IO. Factors at P < 0.05 were declared statically significant. Results. 227
patient participants were included and finally analyzed in this study. From these, 83.3% patients have favorable surgical
management outcomes of IO, whereas the rest 16.7% patients have unfavorable outcomes. Of 38 patients with unfavorable
outcome, the most common postoperative complication occurred was surgical site infection (36.8%), followed by pneumonia
(23.6%) and septic shock (21.0%) among other complications. A total of 10 postoperative deaths were also documented as
unfavorable surgical management outcomes of IO. Of the determinant factors analyzed in this study, only three factors, duration
of illness before surgery, length of hospital stay after surgery, and comorbidity, were independently significantly associated with
the surgical management outcome of IO. Conclusions. In this study, the majority of patients had favorable surgical management
outcomes of IO, and the proportion of patients with unfavorable outcomes was however considerable. *us, designing a strategy
addressing the significantly associated determining factors could be helpful to further increase the likelihood of favorable surgical
management outcomes of IO.
