Intestinal pseudo-obstruction

Intestinal pseudo-obstruction is a clinical syndrome in which the intestines lose the ability to properly propel food and waste along the digestive tract, producing the same signs as a physical blockage, including abdominal pain, nausea, distension, vomiting, difficulty swallowing and constipation, even though no mechanical obstruction is actually present. Because its symptoms mimic true obstruction so closely, diagnosis is difficult and often delayed until other mechanical causes have been ruled out by imaging or surgery. The condition is classified by duration as acute, also called Ogilvie syndrome, when it lasts less than six months, or chronic when it persists longer, and by origin as primary, meaning idiopathic or inherited, or secondary to another disease. Recognized secondary causes include Parkinson's disease, Chagas disease, Hirschsprung's disease, Kawasaki disease, connective tissue disease, mitochondrial disease, endocrine disorders and certain medications. Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction carries substantial risk, with mortality estimated between 10 and 25 percent in the most severe long-standing cases.