Med. praxi. 2026;23(3):196-199 | DOI: 10.36290/med.2026.008

Mesenteric ischaemia: an interdisciplinary perspective

MUDr. Matej Pekař, Ph.D., MBA^{1, 2}, MUDr. Lubomír Blaha, MBA¹

¹ Centrum cévní a miniinvazivní chirurgie, Nemocnice AGEL Třinec-Podlesí

² Fyziologický ústav, Lékařská fakulta, Masarykova univerzita, Brno

Acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) is a serious clinical condition with overall short-term mortality exceeding 50-60 %. Although the incidence of the acute form surpasses 60/100 000 inhabitants per year in the population of patients over 70, the diagnosis is still established with an alarming frequency of delay or only at autopsy. The key prerequisite for patient survival is not so much the availability of modern treatment as active clinical suspicion on the part of the first-contact physician. This review summarises the pathophysiology, aetiological classification, diagnostic algorithm and therapeutic options for both forms of ischaemia - acute and chronic - with particular emphasis on practical recommendations for internists and general practitioners. It highlights the role of CT angiography as the gold standard of imaging, the limitations of laboratory diagnostics, and the specifics of treatment of individual forms of ischaemia, including anticoagulation in venous thrombosis.

Keywords: mesenteric ischaemia, acute mesenteric ischaemia, chronic mesenteric ischaemia, CT angiography, mesenteric venous thrombosis.

Received: March 16, 2026; Revised: March 16, 2026; Accepted: March 18, 2026; Published: June 22, 2026  Show citation