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FUNCTIONAL ILEUS OF THE NEWBORN *
Author(s) -
Maclaurin Campbell
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1965.tb04357.x
Subject(s) - medicine , nothing , ileus , bowel obstruction , differential diagnosis , intensive care medicine , surgery , pediatrics , general surgery , epistemology , pathology , philosophy
S ummary 1. Intestinal obstruction of a purely functional nature can occur in newborn babies, particularly when premature. 2. Previous accounts of the condition are reviewed, and a further 8 cases described. 3. Differential diagnosis from organic obstruction is frequently difficult, but is important, as operation is to be avoided if possible. For this reason the passage of a rectal tube and the use of enemas should always precede the decision to operate on an obstructed baby. 4. Conservative treatment is effective in tiding many of these infants over the obstructive phase and surgery has nothing to offer beyond exclusion of organic disease. Those babies that do survive show no evidence of any residual defect.