Incarcerated inguinal hernia in children

A survey has been made of 110 children under 4 years of age who developed inguinal hernias. Of these, 61 became incarcerated at some time, the highest incidence being in the youngest infants; the bowel was not strangulated in any of these hernias. No untoward effects were seen to result from a short trial of conservative treatment in incarcerated hernia.