Non-traumatic perforation of the small intestine. Report of 13 cases and review of the literature.

Abstract

NTPSI remains a rare entity with an incidence of 1 case/year/350,000 population. Compared to seven previous series from industrialized countries, it seems that Crohn's disease has recently become the major etiology for NTPSI, probably due to the increasing prevalence of this disease. It is possible that many of the frequent "idiopathic" cases diagnosed in the past were due to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. While in developing countries, typhoid fever remains a major cause of NTPSI, opportunistic infections are recently reported in industrialized countries. The diagnosis of NTPSI is usually made at laparotomy. In most cases, resection and primary anastomosis is appropriate. Mortality rates might be lower than in the past.