Right-Side Colon Ischemia: Clinical Features, Large Visceral Artery Occlusion, and Long-Term Follow-Up.
BACKGROUND
Large visceral artery occlusion (LVAO) could underlie right-side colon ischemia (RSCI) but is little known.


OBJECTIVE
To assess patients with RSCI through long-term follow-up, including features and management of LVAO.


METHODS
Mesenteric ischemia and mortality.


METHODS
Retrospective observational study in an integrated health care system.


RESULTS
Of 49 patients (30 women [61.2%]; mean [standard deviation] age, 69.4 [11.9] years), 19 (38.8%) underwent surgery—that is, 5 (83.3%) of 6 who developed RSCI in hospital following surgical procedures and 14 (32.6%) of 43 who had RSCI before hospitalization (p value = 0.03); overall, 5 (10.2%) died. Among 44 survivors with a median (range) follow-up of 5.19 (0.03-14.26) years, 5 (11.4%), including 3 (20.0%) of 15 operated cases, had symptomatic LVAO and underwent angioplasty and stent placement: 2 for abdominal angina that preceded RSCI, 1 for acute mesenteric ischemia 1 week after resection of RSCI, 1 for RSCI 6 weeks after resection of left-side ischemia, and 1 for abdominal angina that began 3 years after spontaneous recovery from RSCI. None had further mesenteric ischemia until death from nonintestinal disease or the end of follow-up (1.6 to 10.2 years later). Kaplan-Meier survival estimates for all 44 survivors at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years were 88.6%, 72.3%, 57.6%, and 25.9%, respectively. Thirty-one patients (70.4%) died during follow-up, 19 (61.3%) of a known cause; the 39 patients not treated for LVAO lacked mesenteric ischemia.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with RSCI may have symptomatic LVAO; therefore, we advise they undergo careful query for symptoms of abdominal angina and routine visceral artery imaging.
Gastroenterologist in the Department of Medicine at the San Diego Medical Center in CA. george.f.longstreth@kp.org.
George F
GF
Longstreth
Vascular Surgeon in the Department of Surgery at the San Diego Medical Center and the Chair of the San Diego Area Research Committee for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. robert.j.hye@kp.org.
Robert J
RJ
Hye
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003106:Colon; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D065666:Mesenteric Ischemia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D008641:Mesenteric Vascular Occlusion / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors