Table 1.

Criteria for the diagnosis of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction

Must include

One or more symptoms of ileus1 onset at least 6 mo prior to diagnosis

One or both of following for the last 12 wk: (1) Abdominal pain; (2) Abdominal bloating

Dilatation and/or air-fluid levels of the intestine on abdominal X-ray, echo and/or computed tomography imaging

No evidence of structural disease (including findings of upper endoscopy, lower endoscopy, computed tomography, barium enema, and small-bowel follow-through) that could explain dilatation and/or air-fluid levels of the intestine

Supportive criteria

Congenital and/or onset under 15 years old must be excluded. Only adult onset is included

Surgical history within the 6 mo prior to diagnosis must be excluded to rule out Ogilvie syndrome, except surgery for CIP

To define CIP at two levels: Primary CIP or secondary CIP. Primary CIP consists of three types: the muscular type, neurogenic type and idiopathic type; Secondary CIP consists of two types: the systemic sclerosis (SSc) type and unclassified type

Family accumulation may exist

Neuropathy such as problems with urination may exist

Some psychosocial disorder may be present

¹Symptoms of ileus include: Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, abdominal fullness, lack of defecation and/or passing gas. CIP: Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction.