Table 4 .
Differences in preoperative characteristics of patients in the operative management vs non-operative management groups
| Operative management | Non-operative management | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n | 50 | 44 | |
| Gender (%) | 0.001 | ||
| Male | 28 (56.0) | 9 (20.5) | |
| Female | 22 (44.0) | 35 (79.5) | |
| Age (mean (SD)) | 68.11 (14.34) | 66.56 (13.10) | 0.586 |
| Charlson index (mean (SD)) | 8.10 (2.31) | 8.14 (1.73) | 0.932 |
| Primary cancer location (%) | 0.001 | ||
| Appendix | 0 (0.0) | 3 (6.8) | ns |
| Breast | 0 (0.0) | 4 (9.1) | ns |
| Colorectal | 31 (62.0) | 14 (31.8) | 0.0041 |
| Gynaecological | 3 (6.0) | 15 (34.1) | 0.0006 |
| Not known | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.3) | ns |
| Peritoneal | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.3) | ns |
| Skin | 2 (4.0) | 0 (0.0) | ns |
| Small bowel | 4 (8.0) | 1 (2.3) | ns |
| Small bowel NET | 2 (4.0) | 0 (0.0) | ns |
| UGI | 4 (8.0) | 2 (4.5) | ns |
| Urological | 4 (8.0) | 3 (6.8) | ns |
| Admission was emergency (%) | 47 (94.0) | 43 (97.7) | 0.703 |
| First presentation of cancer (%) | 18 (36.0) | 4 ( 9.1) | 0.005 |
| Obstruction of bowel at single level (%) | 28 (56.0) | 16 (36.4) | 0.09 |
| Previous curative surgery performed for the primary (%) | 28 (56.0) | 29 (65.9) | 0.441 |
| Days from curative surgery to mSBO presentation (median [IQR]) | 620.20 [362.19, 1,911.14] | 699.13 [354.01, 1,676.08] | 0.911 |
| Albumin level on admission (g/l) (mean (SD)) | 40.43 (6.46) | 36.75 (6.35) | 0.007 |
| Albumin level preoperatively (g/l) (mean (SD)) | 32.56 (7.82) | NA | |
| Weight on admission (kg) (mean (SD)) | 69.0 (14.3) | 62.85 (12.9) | 0.035 |
| BMI on admission (kg/m2) (mean (SD)) | 24.7 (4.65) | 23.9 (4.5) | 0.376 |
| Weight change from the highest weight recorded in the 1 year preceding the admission (mean (SD)) | −6.41 (6.60) | −5.86 (5.57) | 0.721 |
| Ascites on admission (%) | 7 (14.0) | 14 (31.8) | 0.069 |
| Radiotherapy to pelvis or abdomen previously (%) | 4 (8.0) | 3 (6.8) | 1 |
Primary cancer category is tested with individual Fisher exact tests; p-values below 0.0045 were deemed significant (as per Bonferroni correction)
NET: neuroendocrine tumour; UGI: upper gastrointestinal; mSBO: malignant small bowel obstruction