Examination of Physicians’ Perception of the Indications of Colorectal Stents in the Management of Malignant Large Bowel Obstruction: A Provincial Survey

Table 4

A subgroup of respondents’ management decisions (measured in proportions, %) based on eight clinical scenarios of malignant large bowel obstruction or MLO (detailed in Box 1), with the optimal approach highlighted in bold, as suggested by the 2014 ESGE/ASGE guidelines. Only the therapeutic options of respondents who insert colorectal stents as part of their practice are shown here.

Scenario	Option A	Option B	Option C	Option D
1: young, healthy	27.3	0	59.1	13.6
2: elderly, healthy	40.8	22.8	27.3	9.1
3: young, comorbid	54.6	4.5	27.3	13.6
4: elderly, comorbid	27.3	50	9.1	13.6
5: young, no chemotherapy	4.5	91	0	4.5
6: elderly, no chemotherapy	0	77.3	0	22.7
7: young, chemotherapy	13.6	50	22.8	13.6
8: elderly, chemotherapy	0	72.7	4.5	22.8

The therapeutic options are clarified: “Option A: Insert a colorectal stent, with view to decompressive surgery in 5–10 days; Option B: Insert a colorectal stent regardless of whether the patient may have subsequent surgery or not; Option C: Send patient to the operating room for urgent decompressive surgery; Option D: Observe patient’s symptoms for 24–48 hours with nasogastric suction.”