Neonatal intestinal perforation in Hirschsprung's disease

Over a period of 18 years, 77 of 135 patients treated for Hirschsprung's disease (HD) presented in the neonatal period. Of these 77 patients, 8 had gastrointestinal (GI) perforations. Seven patients were born at full term and 1 at 32 weeks of gestation. Three patients had associated trisomy 21. The site of perforation included rectum in 1 patient, sigmoid in 1, descending colon in 1, transverse colon in 2, caecum in 2, and jejunum in 1. Perforations occurred in ganglionic bowel in 7 patients and in the aganglionic segment in 1. One patient died in the newborn period of overwhelming sepsis secondary to enterocolitis, and histology of the bowel confirmed HD. In 6 patients HD was confirmed on barium enema and suction rectal biopsy, and they subsequently underwent a definitive pull-through operation. The 1 patient in whom the initial barium enema was normal continued to suffer from constipation until the age of 7 years, when the diagnosis of HD was established. He then underwent a pull-through procedure with no further problems. An association between neonatal intestinal perforation and HD must therefore be recognised to avoid delay in the management.Correspondence to: P. Puri