2019 Volume 39 Issue 5 Pages 979-982
Although lower gastrointestinal (GI) perforation and barium peritonitis rarely occur after upper GI examinations with barium contrast, they are difficult to treat and often follow a severe clinical course. At our hospital, we experienced eight cases of lower GI perforation after upper GI examinations with barium contrast between 2001 and 2017. We report herein on our findings. These eight cases included three men and five women with a mean age of 73.4 years. The mean duration between the upper GI examination with barium contrast and onset was 5.5 days, the mean duration between onset and hospital visit was 15.8 hours, and the mean duration between visit and surgery was 6.3 hours. The perforation site was the sigmoid colon in five patients and the rectum in three patients. Hartmann’s operation was performed in all patients. Comorbidities included cancer in two patients and diverticulitis in three patients. All patients required intensive care postoperatively and were admitted to the intensive care unit. The mean duration of the hospital stay was 23.8 days. There was one hospital death. Among the surviving patients, four patients underwent colostomy closure at a later time.
