Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2015; 21(2): 675-687
Published online Jan 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i2.675
Accurate definition and management of idiopathic sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis
Sami Akbulut
Sami Akbulut, Department of Surgery and Liver Transplant Institute, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Malatya 44280, Turkey
Author contributions: Akbulut S designed the literature review, organized the report and wrote the paper.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Sami Akbulut, Assistant Professor, FICS, FACS, Department of Surgery and Liver Transplant Institute, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Elazig Yolu 8 km, Malatya 44280, Turkey. akbulutsami@gmail.com
Telephone: +90-422-3410660 Fax: +90-422-3410036
Received: July 30, 2014
Peer-review started: July 30, 2014
First decision: August 27, 2014
Revised: September 20, 2014
Accepted: December 1, 2014
Article in press: December 1, 2014
Published online: January 14, 2015
Processing time: 172 Days and 11.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Idiopathic sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis (SEP) is a clinical entity characterized by partial or complete encasement of the small intestines by a thick fibrocollagenous membrane. While some patients with idiopathic SEP are asymptomatic, the majority of affected individuals develop acute, subacute or chronic attacks of gastrointestinal obstruction. Preoperative diagnosis of the disease is quite difficult, and many cases are diagnosed intraoperatively. Nonetheless, recent technological advances in imaging modalities, particularly computed tomography, have made preoperative diagnosis of SEP possible. Surgery remains the best management option for patients with severe signs of intestinal obstruction.