Emergency surgery for complicated colorectal cancer in central Brazil

Abstract

Objective: to report clinical and pathological features of patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed during emergency abdominal surgery. Methods: records of 107 patients operated between 2006 and 2010 were reviewed. Results: there were 58 women and 49 men with mean age of 59.8 years. The most frequent symptoms were: abdominal pain (97.2%), no bowel movements (81.3%), vomiting (76.6%), and anorexia (40.2%). Patients were divided into five groups: obstructive acute abdomen (n = 68), obstructive acute perforation (n = 21), obstructive acute inflammation (n = 13), abdominal sepsis (n = 3), and severe gastrointestinal bleeding (n = 2). Tumors were located in the rectosigmoid (51.4%), transverse colon (19.6%), ascendent colon (12.1%), descendent colon (11.2%), and 5.6% of the cases presented association of two colon tumors (synchronic tumors). The surgical treatment was: tumor resection with colostomy (85%), tumor resection with primary anastomosis (10.3%), and colostomy without tumor resection (4.7%). Immediate mortality occurred in 33.4% of the patients. Bivariate analysis of sex, tumor location and stage showed no relation to death (p > 0.05%). Conclusions: colorectal cancer may be the cause of colon obstruction or perfuration in patients with nonspecific colonic complaints. Despite the high mortality rate, resection of tumor is feasible in most patients. Resumo: Objetivo: analisar os aspectos clinicos e patológicos de pacientes operados de cancer colorretal diagnosticados durante operações abdominais de urgencia. Métodos: foram estudados os prontuários de 107 pacientes operados entre 2006 e 2010. Resultados: Foram incluidos 58 mulheres e 49 homens com idade media de 59,8 anos. Os sintomas mais frequentes foram: dor abdominal (97,2%), parade de eliminação de gases e fezes (81,3%), vomitos (76,6%) e anorexia (40,2%). Os pacientes foram divididos em cinco grupos: abdomen agudo obstrutivo (68), abdomen agudo perfurativo (21), abdomen agudo inflamatorio (13), sepsis abdominal (3) e hemorragia digestive baixa (2). Os tumores localizavam-se no rectossigmoide (51,4%), colon transverso (19,6%), colon ascendente (12,1%), colon descendente (11,2%) e 5,6% dos pacientes apresentavam tumors sincronicos. O tratamento cirurgico foi: colectomia com colostomy (85%), colectomia com anastomose primaria (10,3%) e colostomia sem ressecçao do tumor (4,7%). Mortalidade immediate ocorreu em 33,4% dos pacientes. Analise bivariate de sexo, localização do tumor e estadio não foi relacionada a mortalidade (P>0,05%). Conclusões: o cancer colorretal pode ser a causa de obstrução colonica ou perfuração in pacientes com queixas inespecificas. A despeito da alta taxa de mortalidade, a ressecção do tumor pode ser realizada na maioria dos pacientes. Keywords: Colorectal neoplasms, Intestinal obstruction, Intestinal perforation, Colonic surgery, Adenocarcinoma, Palavras chave: Tumor colorretal, Obstrução intestinal, Perfuração intestinal, Cirurgia colonica, Adenocarcinoma