Ischemic colitis in the elderly

The blood supply to the intestine mainly comes from the celiac artery, superior mesenteric artery, inferior mesenteric artery, and their branches. When these vessels experience blood flow disturbances, the corresponding intestine may develop acute or chronic ischemic damage. Ischemic colitis in the elderly is mostly caused by non-occlusive ischemia of the middle colic artery and right colic artery branches of the superior mesenteric artery, with a minority caused by occlusive ischemia from microemboli or thrombosis. The onset age of this disease is mostly over 50 years, and half of the patients have hypertension, arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, or diabetes. It is slightly more common in males than females, with acute abdominal pain, diarrhea, and hematochezia as its clinical characteristics. It is classified into gangrenous type, transient type, and stricturing type.