[Surgical treatment of acute complicated colitis. Report on twenty-eight cases (author's transl)]

Experience with 28 patients with acute diffuse complicated colitis operated on in emergency or semi emergency by the same surgical team is reviewed. The forms with colonic dilatation are the most numerous but do not resume the serious complications which may occur in the course of non specific inflammatory diseases of the colon. The operative mortality in this series was 10,7% (3/28). Peritoneal sepsis was the most significant factor contributing to mortality. It appears that the keystone to successful management is to prevent colonic perforation. Protracted medical management may be at last partly responsible for this complication. Failure of intensive medical therapy to induce rapid improvement constitutes an indication for definitive surgical treatment.