Gallstone Coleus: A Rare Relation of Gallstone Ileus

Background: Intestinal obstruction due to gallstones is a rare condition accounting for 1-4% of cases of a mechanical small bowel obstruction. Gallstone coleus (gallstone obstruction of the large bowel) is an even more uncommon cause of a mechanical bowel obstruction. Methods: We performed a search of the PubMed database in December 2014. To the best of our knowledge all available case reports and case series were included. Reference sections were searched manually for additional potential cases. Search terms for gallstone coleus were used in all possible combinations. Our exclusion criteria embraced reports of gallstone obstruction of the small bowel, and duplicate cases. We found 57 publications that together produced a total of 63 case reports of gallstone coleus. Conclusion: Gallstone coleus is a rare entity that carries a high mortality. It usually occurs in the elderly, who frequently suffer a wide variety of comorbidities. To lower mortality, it is advocated that in the elderly co-morbid patient, non-invasive options of stone extraction should be trialled as the treatment option of first choice.