Failure to improve outcome in acute mesenteric ischaemia: Seven year review

Objective: To determine whether the prognosis of acute mesenteric ischaemia has changed over the past seven years. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Teaching hospital, Scotland. Subjects: 57 patients who presented to this hospital between January 1987 a nd December 1993 with acute mesenteric ischaemia. Main outcome measures: Morbidity, mortality and prognostic features. Results: 46 of the 57 patients died. Only 18(32%) patients were accurately diagnosed before operation or death. Clinical presentation, white cell coun t, and serum amylase activity were not helpful in the diagnosis. Only 3 pat ients had mesenteric angiography, and none were given lytic agents or vasod ilators. Conclusion: Mortality from acute mesenteric ischaemia has not changed durin g the past two decades and in the absence of an accurate diagnostic test is unlikely to do so.