Clinical Treatment and Nursing Care of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Acute Abdomen

Aims: Recently, the further understanding of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and development of diagnosis and treatment methods have led to an increase in diagnosed cases. Patients may present with acute abdomen, perforation or peritonitis, and acute intestinal obstruction. This work aims to investigate the clinical treatment and nursing methods of GIST patients with an acute abdomen symptom. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted for the treatment and nursing care of 45 GIST cases, in which the primary symptom was acute abdomen. The patients were admitted at the General Surgery of Sichuan University from January 2008 to January 2011. Results: A total of 45 GIST patients (28 males and 17 females) were involved in the research, which included 29 stomach tumor cases (64.4%), 11 small intestine-related cases (24.5%), 3 colon-related cases (6.7%), and 2 rectum-related cases (4.4%). Among these cases, 11 were diagnosed with acute intestinal obstruction (24.5%), 27 with acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage (60.0%), and 7 with abdominal hemorrhage caused by tumor rupture (15.5%); 41 cases underwent surgical treatment, improved after perioperative care, and were subsequently discharged from the hospital; another 4 cases with advanced tumors were treated with oral imatinib mesylate as neoadjuvant therapy, which eventually led to a partial relief. Conclusions: No clinical specificity regarding GIST exists. Thus, GIST is prone to misdiagnosis and/or missed diagnosis. Early diagnosis and treatment increase the prognosis of patients. The integrity of the treatment and nursing care can effectively and safely help patients during the perioperative period.