How serious is a perforated viscus?
Perforated hollow viscus is a life-threatening cause of abdominal pain and carries a mortality of 30-50%. This diagnosis is first suspected on through a careful history, a thorough examination, attention to abnormal vital signs, and a broad differential diagnosis in ill patients with abdominal pain.
What is an abdominal viscus?
The solid abdominal viscera (singular: viscus) is a collective term for those internal organs of the upper abdomen that are primarily solid in nature, namely the liver, pancreas, spleen, adrenals, and kidneys.
What does organ perforation mean?
Perforation is a hole that develops through the wall of a body organ. This problem may occur in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, or gallbladder.
What causes organ perforation?
Gastrointestinal perforation (GP) occurs when a hole forms all the way through the stomach, large bowel, or small intestine. It can be due to a number of different diseases, including appendicitis and diverticulitis. It can also be the result of trauma, such as a knife wound or gunshot wound.
What causes viscus perforation?
The causes of perforated viscus include trauma, bowel ischemia, infections, or ulcerative conditions, all of which ultimately lead to a full-thickness disruption of the intestinal wall. Perforated viscus presents as sudden onset of abdominal pain.
Where is the viscus on the body?
Viscus: An internal organ of the body, specifically one within the chest (as the heart or lungs) or abdomen (as the liver, pancreas or intestines). “Viscus” is the Latin word for “an organ of the body.” The plural of “viscus” is “viscera.”
Where is the viscus Located?
What is perforation in appendicitis?
If the opening to the appendix gets blocked by some material from the intestine, it becomes irritated, swollen, and infected. Sometimes an infection of the appendix can cause a hole that allows the infection to spread to the rest of the abdomen. This is called a “perforated” or “ruptured” appendicitis.
What are the signs of a ruptured intestine?
Symptoms of a bowel perforation include:
- sudden and severe abdominal pain.
- nausea and vomiting.
- fever.
- chills.
- swelling and bloating of the abdomen.
How long can you live with a perforated colon?
Survival from the time of perforation differed when compared by BMI groups (p-0.013). Patients with a normal BMI (18.5–25.0 kg/m2) had the longest survival time of 68.0 months, compared to underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m2) and overweight patients (BMI 25.1–30.0 kg/m2), 14.10, and 13.7 months.
What causes a perforated viscus?
A perforated viscus is caused by perforated peptic ulcers, colon ischamia, colon diverticulitis, colon cancer, stomach perforations and possibly injuries beneath the nipples, states Dr. Jason Smith, who is a colorectal surgeon.
What is perforated hollow viscus?
Perforated Viscus. In medical terms, viscus refers to a hollow organ that is present inside the body. In humans, such organs are found in the chest as well as the abdomen, such as intestines, gallbladder, stomach, spleen, and urinary bladder. A perforated viscus or a ruptured viscus, is often used to denote any rupturing or tearing of these organs of the abdomen.
What is a viscus perforation?
An organ with an abnormal opening often is referred to as a perforated viscus. Viscus technically means a hollow organ found inside the body. Examples of these hollow organs mostly are found in the chest and abdomen such as the stomach, appendix, intestines, spleen, gallbladder, and urinary bladder.