Journals

Political conflict hinders pediatric healthcare in Afghanistan. This study examines the impact of a new pediatric operating room at Ataturk Hospital, Kabul. In 2023, 1,014 operations were performed, showing successful implementation of surgical care in a low-resource setting. Future efforts should focus on addressing unmet surgical needs.

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a prevalent cause of acute abdomen among surgical patients, representing approximately 16% of surgical hospital admissions and affecting over 300,000 individuals annually. Postoperative adhesions are the most common cause, accounting for 74-83% of SBO cases. Conversely, bezoar-related obstructions are less common, accounting for only 0.4% to 4.8% of cases. Bezoars are an indigestible agglomeration of indigestible material formed in the intestinal tract, typically categorized as phytobezoars (composed of plant materials such as fibers, fruits, and skins and seeds of vegetables), trichobezoars (consisting of ingested hair), lactobezoars (containing milk protein in milk-fed infants), and pharmacobezoars (resulting from medications).