Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2021; 27(29): 4746-4762
Published online Aug 7, 2021. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i29.4746
Ischemic bowel disease in 2021
Monjur Ahmed
Monjur Ahmed, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, United States
Author contributions: Monjur Ahmed solely contributed to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Monjur Ahmed, MD, Doctor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Thomas Jefferson University, 132 South 10th Street, Suite 468, Main Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, United States. monjur.ahmed@jefferson.edu
Received: January 28, 2021
Peer-review started: January 28, 2021
First decision: June 14, 2021
Revised: June 23, 2021
Accepted: July 22, 2021
Article in press: July 22, 2021
Published online: August 7, 2021
Abstract

Ischemic bowel disease (ISBODI) includes colon ischemia, acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) and chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI). Epidemiologically, colon ischemia is the most common type followed by AMI and CMI. There are various risk factors for the development of ISBODI. Abdominal pain is the common presenting symptom of each type. High clinical suspicion is essential in ordering appropriate tests. Imaging studies and colonoscopy with biopsy are the main diagnostic tests. Treatment varies from conservative measures to surgical resection and revascularization. Involvement of multidisciplinary team is essential in managing ISBODI. Although open surgery with revascularization plays an important role, recently there is an increasing interest in percutaneous endovascular treatment.

Keywords: Colon ischemia, Ischemic colitis, Acute mesenteric ischemia, Chronic mesenteric ischemia, Endovascular treatment of acute and chronic mesenteric ischemia

Core Tip: Ischemic bowel disease (ISBODI) includes a spectrum of diseases due to inadequate blood supply to the bowel wall. In this review, we will be discussing the epidemiology, risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical aspects, investigations, current management protocols and prognosis of each type of ISBODI.