30-year experience of the diagnosis and treatment of gallstone ileus

Background. Gallstone ileus is a pathology characterized by a variety of clinical manifestations and types of the course. Therefore, it is difficult in the diagnostic and therapeutic aspect and leads to unsatisfactory treatment results. The aim of the work is to find out the features of diagnosis and treatment of patients with gallstone ileus. Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis was performed of 51 medical records of inpatients with gallstone obstruction operated in the clinic from 1990 to 2020. Women aged 61 to 85 (median of 74.20 ± 12.95) years predominated — 44 (86.3 %). Most patients (81 %) had concomitant diseases, which in combination with gallstone ileus caused high surgical risk: coronary heart disease — 26 (51 %), essential hypertension — 11 (21.6 %), diabetes mellitus — 3 (5.9 %), obesity — 1 (2 %). Results. During the clinical, laboratory and instrumental examinations, the following preliminary diagnoses were made, for which surgical treatment was performed: acute adhesive intestinal obstruction — 29 (56.9 %), gallstone ileus — 9 (17.6 %), acute bowel obstruction — 4 (7.8 %), acute mesenteric circulatory failure — 4 (7.8 %), acute cholecystitis — 3 (5.9 %), hernia — 1 (1.9 %), peritonitis — 1 (1.9 %). Gallstone obstruction was detected at different levels: in the duodenum — in 3 (5.9 %) patients, jejunum — in 17 (33.3 %), ileum — in 23 (45.1 %) and colon — 8 (15.7 %) patients. The cause of stones in the lumen of the digestive tract was cholecystoduodenal fistula — in 48 (94.1 %) and choledochoduodenal fistula — in 3 (5.9 %) patients. Diagnosis of biliary fistulas was performed during postoperative radiological and endoscopic examination. The scope of surgery was aimed at eliminating acute intestinal obstruction; enterotomy was performed 5–10 cm distal to the site of obstruction with lithoextraction. In one patient with areas of focal necrosis at the site of stone entrapment, a loop of the small intestine was resected with entero-enterostomy “side-by-side”. In case of duodenal obstruction, lithoextraction was performed through gastrotomy. In the perioperative period, 43 (84.3 %) patients received antibiotic prophylaxis using cephalosporines, fluoroquinolones and metronidazole. Purulent-septic complications in the postoperative period developed in 9 (17.6 %) patients: suppuration of the postoperative wound in 6, infiltrate of the abdominal cavity in 1 and bronchopneumonia in 2. Two patients died, postoperative mortality was 3.9 %. Conclusions. Gallstone intestinal obstruction is difficult to diagnose due to a variety of clinical manifestations and course, and, accordingly, it is accompanied by frequent complications and high mortality. Surgical treatment should eliminate intestinal obstruction in conditions of high surgical risk without repair of biliodigestive fistula. Early detection and determination of indications for planned surgical sanitation of the biliary tract is a reliable way to prevent gallstone ileus.