Causes and features of bowel obstruction in palliative care

Bowel obstruction is common in patients with cancer, especially with gastrointestinal or gynaecological cancers. Obstruction can be from an intrinsic cause (eg primary colon cancer), extrinsic compression (eg pancreatic cancer), or from peristaltic dysfunction (eg due to ovarian cancer). Bowel obstruction in patients with palliative care needs can also be due to a nonmalignant cause such as adhesions or volvulus.

The clinical picture of bowel obstruction depends on whether the obstruction is at the gastric outlet or high bowel level, or at the low bowel level.