title: Radiation enterocolitis: overview of the past 15 years.
abstract: From April 1980 to April 1995 a total of 54 patients (53 women, 1 man) were hospitalized in our department for the surgical treatment of radiation enterocolitis. Two surgical protocols were applied for these patients: intestinal decompression procedures alone (intestinal bypass, colostomy, or both; n = 18) or an intestinal resection in addition to decompression (n = 36). The clinical factors contributing to survival after irradiation were retrospectively reviewed by a multiple variate proportional hazards model. As a result, patients treated with decompression procedures alone had an 11 times higher risk for death than those treated with the addition of intestinal resection. In the former group, 5 of 18 patients died of bleeding from the remaining intestine after operation. We concluded that surgical resection of the diseased intestine is a useful procedure for treating radiation enterocolitis to reduce intestinal bleeding from the irradiated intestine.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Surgery, University of Ryukyu, School of Medicine, Okinawa, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hiroyasu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishimine
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimabuku
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kusano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Higashi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Muto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004760:Enterocolitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate