gastrointestinal obstruction, any obstruction of the passage of intestinal contents, caused by mechanical blockage or failure of motility. Mechanical blockage may be caused by adhesions resulting from surgery or inflammatory bowel disease, an incarcerated hernia, fecal impaction, tumor, intussusception, volvulus, or foreign body ingestion. Failure of motility may follow anesthesia, abdominal surgery, or occlusion of any of the mesenteric arteries to the gut. Symptoms vary with the cause of obstruction but generally include vomiting, abdominal pain, and increasing abdominal distension. Dehydration and prostration may follow. Characteristically bowel sounds are diminished or absent, especially distal to the obstruction, and abdominal guarding is prominent. A barium enema may be performed, but barium is never given by mouth because it increases the volume of the obstruction. The objective of therapy is to remove the obstruction as quickly and safely as possible. A tube is inserted into the stomach or small intestine to aspirate contents and relieve distension. During these procedures the patient is monitored for proper fluid and electrolyte balance. Surgical intervention may be necessary. Medication for pain can aggravate the condition by further decreasing motility of the GI tract, and it may not be prescribed in the acute period, before the location and extent of the obstruction are discovered.
