RESUMEN
Obstruction of the large intestine of tumorous origin was treated by the traditional methods in 191 patients: an emergency operation in peritonitis or nonoperative management of the obstruction by cleansing enema, purgatives, and infusion-transfusion therapy. In another group of 341 patients emergency colonoscopy and ultrasonic diagnosis were resorted to and the "obstruction index" (Deltz et al. 1989) was used for objectification of the indications for an emergency operation. The method of fractional oral treatment with 30% solution of polyethelyne oxide-400 and 1% chloramphenicol was applied in this group. Traditional treatment caused resolution of the obstruction in 22.8% of patients in the control and in 28.3% of patients in the experimental group. Postoperative mortality was 24.1% and 16.4%, respectively. The obstruction index allowed correct evaluation of the indications for operation in 97% of cases, the number of forced operation reduced from 52.2% to 14.1%.