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. 2024 May 23;31(6):388–400. doi: 10.1159/000538938

Table 2.

Pathophysiologic and morphological classifications for intestinal failure and short bowel syndrome

Pathophsiologic classification
Condition Most frequent underlying disorders
SBS • Mesenteric infarction (arterial or venous thrombosis)
• Crohn’s disease
• Radiation enteritis
• Surgical complications
• Intestinal volvulus
• Familial polyposis
• Abdominal trauma
• Intestinal angiomatosis
• Necrotizing enterocolitis
• Complicated intussusception
• Congenital malformations
Intestinal fistula Inflammatory: Crohn’s disease, diverticular disease, pancreatic disease, and radiation enteritis
Neoplastic: colon, ovarian and small bowel malignancies
Iatrogenic: operation and percutaneous drainage
Infectious disease: tuberculosis and actinomycosis
• Trauma
• Foreign body
Intestinal dysmotility • Acute: postoperative, systemic inflammatory or neurological reaction associated with critical illnesses; Ogilvie syndrome
• Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction
Mechanical obstruction • Obstruction (polypoid tumors, intussusception, gallstones, foreign bodies, bezoars, feces)
• Intrinsic bowel lesions (stenosis or strictures: neoplastic, inflammatory bowel disease, chemical, anastomotic)
• Extrinsic lesions (abdominal adhesions: previous surgery, previous peritonitis, frozen abdomen; hernias; neoplasia: desmoid tumors, peritoneal carcinomatosis; volvulus; congenital bands)
Extensive small bowel mucosa disease • Autoimmune enteropathy
• Intestinal lymphangiectasia
• Protein-losing enteropathies
• Common variable immunodeficiency
• Crohn’s disease
• Celiac disease
• Radiation enteritis
• Chemotherapy-related enteritis
Morphologic classification (SBS)
Group 1 End jejunostomy (the most nutritionally dependent patient)
Group 2 Jejunocolic anastomosis
Group 3 Jejuno-ileo-colic anastomosis (the most favorable phenotype)