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Table 3 Key clinical points

From: Bowel obstruction: a narrative review for all physicians

- Multidetector computed tomography has emerged as the best imaging test for the diagnosis of mechanical bowel obstruction and its complications and can help patients’ management to either conservative or operative management

- Conservative adhesive small bowel obstruction treatment is the mainstay non-operative management in all patients with adhesive small bowel obstruction without signs of perforations or bowel ischemia

- Self-expanding metallic stents as bridge to elective surgery for obstructing left colon cancer offers a better short-term outcome than direct emergency surgery because morbidity is comparable, but rate of stomas is significantly lower; long-term outcomes seem also comparable, but there is still insufficient oncologic scientific evidence to prove it

- Colonoscopic sigmoid volvulus detorsion is a simple and mini-invasive procedure associated with a success rate of 70 to 95% with a 4% morbidity: it can convert an urgent situation into an elective one but with high recurrence rate.