STUDY OF INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION AMONG NEONATES

Abstract

Failure to pass meconium by a full-term neonate within the rst 24 hours should raise a suspicion of bowel obstruction . The commonest reported causes of bowel obstruction in decreasing order includes anorectal malformations, duodenal atresia , jejunoileal atresia , Hirschsprung's disease , meconium ileus and meconium plug syndrome(1) . Other neonatal medical conditions like hypothyroidism , hypokalemia , sepsis and congestive heart failure are also reported to cause bowel obstruction (2). The aim of this observational cross sectional study of 60 patients from Dec. 2016 to June. 2018 was to study the types and clinical features of neonatal intestinal obstruction , various modalities of intervention , to study the prognosis and causes of adverse outcome. The study showed that the most common cause of neonatal intestinal obstruction is seen to be anorectal anomalies, predominantly Anorectal Malformations . The diagnosis of these disorders is done with minimal investigations . These anorectal malformations require initial evaluation to rule out associated anomalies and surgical intervention in the form of either anal cut back or stoma creation