Abstract:Objective To construct a decision tree for the treatment of gastrointestinal bezoars, aiming to optimize the treatment outcomes for these conditions.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the medical records of 51 patients with gastrointestinal bezoars treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China from January 2010 to December 2022, and a decision tree for the treatment gastrointestinal bezoars was developed based on these data.Results Among the 51 patients, 20 patients with acute presentations were all successfully treated surgically. Of the 31 patients without acute presentations, 4 had rare bezoars (trichobezoars), among whom 1 was successfully treated with endoscopic therapy, and 3 were successfully treated surgically. The remaining 27 had common bezoars (mainly phytobezoars), with 7 successfully treated with medications, 17 with endoscopic therapy, and 3 with surgery.Conclusions According to the decision tree for the treatment of gastrointestinal bezoars, we found that surgical treatment is the preferred option for patients with acute presentations of gastrointestinal bezoars. For patients with rare bezoars without acute presentations, despite successful cases of the endoscopic therapy, surgery remains the preferred treatment. For patients with common bezoars without acute presentations, medication and endoscopic therapy should be considered first, and surgical treatment is recommended when they are ineffective.