Similarities of Mechanical Intestinal Obstruction and Aganglionic Megacolon in the Newborn Infant

RECENTLY a survey established that there was a 70 per cent mortality in the neonate with Hirschsprung's disease.1 A majority were not treated by surgery. A survival rate of 30 per cent from a neonatal disease should prompt physicians and surgeons to seek out better methods of diagnosis and treatment.In a study of 200 patients with aganglionic megacolon operated upon during the past ten years, it was noted that 30 children, or 15 per cent, had exploratory laparotomies as neonates, for apparent mechanical intestinal obstructions. Considering the high mortality of this disease, such unnecessary operations should be avoided. Zuelzer . . .