The comparison of postoperative multiple organ failure with arterial disease to that with gastrointestinal cancer]

The clinical features of 22 postoperative multiple organ failure (MOF) patients, comprised of 8 with arterial disease (A-MOF) and 14 with gastrointestinal cancer (G-MOF), were investigated. Differences in the operative time, blood loss, and mortality were not significant. The initial organ impaired was the lungs in 78.6% of G-MOF patients and the heart or kidneys in all A-MOF patients. Infection developed in over 80% of both groups. In many A-MOF patients, the pneumonia or septicemia developed secondary to organ failure, while intraabdominal infection triggered respiratory failure in many G-MOF patients. Our organisms in infected specimens and their antibiotic sensitivities was valuable for the early administration of effective antibiotics. Upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding was important in the prognosis of both groups and occurred more frequently in A-MOF than in G-MOF patients. Consumption coagulopathy in A-MOF patients and DIC induced by infection in G-MOF patients mainly caused such bleeding. Preoperative administration of heparin was effective in improving coagulopathy. Furthermore, measurement of intramural pH with tonometer in the stomach and gastric irrigation with oxygenated perfluorochemicals were effective in the prediction and prevention of gastrointestinal bleeding.