Biomarker assessment in urgent surgical pathology of the small bowel: case-control analysis of a retrospective database

Background: Small bowel obstruction, mesenteric thrombosis, and strangulated ventral hernia area a challenge in emergency abdominal surgery. This study aimed to evaluate biomarkers of damage to the digestive tract in patients with urgent pathology. Materials and methods: The study involved 71 patients aged 18 to 80 years who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit in the immediate postoperative period. Results: All 71 underwent emergency surgery, 27 with small bowel necrosis. Lactate level area under curve (AUC = 0.964), C-reactive protein (AUC = 0.805) and systolic blood pressure (area under curve, AUC = 0.803) on the context of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (AUC = 0.880) showed stratification of patients with complications before surgery. Small bowel necrosis patients revealed an increase in primary thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reactive products (AUC = 0.813) lipid peroxidation products, and a decrease in superoxide dismutase activity (AUC = 0.818) and catalase (AUC = 0.804). Wide variability of intestinal fatty-acid binding protein (I-FABP) from 199.8 to 2189.6 pg/mL were observed in all patients studied, with an AUC = 0.814 in small intestinal necrosis. Conclusion: Surgical pathology of the small intestine due to obstruction of various origina, mesenteric thrombosis, and strangulated ventral hernia pronounced revealed disorders of the antioxidant-prooxidant balance. This was expressed by an increase in lipid peroxidation products, and the level of TBA-reactive products, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase. Viewed against the background of an increase in I-FABP above 577 pg/mL, these variables were the most significant indicators of small intestinal necrosis.