ReviewCureus2025
Evaluating Hyperosmolar Water-Soluble Contrast Media for Diagnosing Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Use of oral iohexol in patients with adhesive small intestinal obstruction.Turkish journal of surgery · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the use of water-soluble contrast media for diagnosing adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) and predicting the need for surgery. While the potential therapeutic role of hyperosmolar water-soluble contrast (HWSC) is theorized, its efficacy remains uncertain. We assessed the effectiveness of HWSC administration compared to standard nonoperative management in patients with radiologically confirmed ASBO, specifically evaluating hospital length of stay (HLOS) and operative rates. The review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines and registered with PROSPERO. We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science until July 2024 to identify relevant studies. A total of 12 randomized controlled trials with a total of 1150 patients were included. Significant benefit was concluded from the use of hyperosmolar water-soluble contrast (e.g., Gastrografin), demonstrating a reduction in unwarranted prolonged hospitalizations (mean difference - 2.17 days, 95% CI -3.28 to -1.06; p = 0.0001) and a 38% reduction in the need for surgery (RR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.50-0.81; p = 0.0002). No other clinically meaningful differences were observed for secondary outcome measures. The application of HWSC in the management of ASBO appears to shorten HLOS and reduce surgical interventions compared to traditional nonoperative care. Further research is warranted to establish the most effective dosing and scheduling for HWSC administration.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.