Postoperative abdominal adhesions and bowel obstruction. A survey among Dutch general practitioners.

AbstractBackground: There is increasing interest among specialists in the complications after abdominal surgery due to adhesions.Objective: Exploration of experiences, attitudes and expectations of general practitioners concerning bowel obstruction and postoperative abdominal adhesions.Methods: In October 2012 a postal questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 800 Dutch GPs.Results: The response rate was 45%, 24% (n = 190) filled out the questionnaire completely, 12% (n = 99) had no experience with the subject and 7% (n = 57) had no time to respond.A history of abdominal surgery does play a part in more than 80% of GP's differential diagnosis of abdominal complaints. Seventy-five per cent consider some types of surgery to induce more adhesions. Eighty-five per cent ponder the differentiation between adhesion related complaints and IBS as clear, however difficult (78%) in specific patients. Intestinal transit problems likely due to adhesions are treated with extra fluid (n = 64), more fibres (n = 85) an...