Acute ischemic colitis in elderly: medical or surgical urgency?

Background Ischemic colitis is frequent disease in the elderly population. Early medical or surgical treatment is the key factor for a favourable prognosis. Many clinical, biohumoral and pathologic factors had been considered to indicate better treatment. "Severity" of the disease seems a prognostic factor for surgery. Aim of this study is to identified objective factors predictive of the better type and time of treatment.