Introduction.

Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction (ASBO) represents a common cause of consultation to the emergency department. Currently there is little clarity about which patients with ASBO are at increased risk of developing complications, potentially benefiting from early surgical management. The present study aims to design and validate a risk prediction scale for adverse outcomes in patients with ASBO.

Methods.

Retrospective cohort study performed from the MIMIC-IV database between 2008 and 2019. Adult patients admitted to the emergency department with a diagnosis of ASBO were included. The primary outcome was the composite of bowel resection, intensive care unit admission, and all-cause mortality. A risk prediction scale was designed by assigning a score to each variable according to the measure of association obtained in the logistic regression model. All analyses were performed in R statistical software (version 3.5.3).

Results.

Five-hundred-thirteen patients were included (men 63.7%, median age: 61 years). Composite outcome was present in 25.7% of cases. Age, history of heart failure and peripheral arterial disease, hemoglobin level, leukocyte count, and INR were the best predictors of these outcomes (AUC 0.75). Based on this model, the simplified HALVIC scale was created, classifying the risk of the composite outcome as low (0-2 points), medium (3-4 points) and high (5-7 points).

Conclusion.

The HALVIC scale is presented as a simple and easily applicable predictive tool in the clinical setting, which can accurately identify patients with ASBO at high risk of complications, allowing the surgeon to adjust management strategies individually and potentially improving the outcomes of these patients.

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