Pediatric Surgery International最新文献

Objectives: Transanal irrigation (TAI) is an emerging minimally invasive therapy for children with severe bowel dysfunction, including fecal incontinence and refractory constipation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of TAI on bowel habits, medication use, quality of life, and caregiver burden in a pediatric population.

Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted on 20 pediatric patients with fecal incontinence. A structured questionnaire assessing bowel function and quality of life was administered at baseline and after 60 days of TAI. Outcomes were compared using Fisher's exact and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.

Results: Significant improvements were observed in bowel care time (p < 0.01), frequency of soiling (p < 0.01), fecal incontinence episodes (p < 0.01), and dependence on laxatives or enemas (p < 0.01). Social participation and emotional well-being also improved. Most patients reported better autonomy and reduced discomfort related to bowel management.

Conclusions: TAI is an effective strategy to improve continence, reduce the burden of bowel care, and enhance quality of life in children with refractory bowel dysfunction.

Purpose: Postoperative scarring remains a major concern for patients and parents following repair of congenital abdominal wall defects. This study evaluated perceptions of postoperative scars in children after omphalocele or gastroschisis repair, comparing self-assessments with parental evaluations. We hypothesized that parents perceive scarring more negatively than their children.

Methods: A single-center study was conducted among patients treated for omphalocele or gastroschisis at the Department of Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital Erlangen (2001-2011). Between July 2022 and March 2023, patients and their parents completed the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) 2.0, Patient Scar Assessment Questionnaire (PSAQ), and Short Form-36 (SF-36). Exclusion criteria were death or psychomotor impairment precluding reliable self-assessment.

Results: Twenty-eight participants (61% gastroschisis, 39% omphalocele) were included. Parents rated scar appearance more negatively than their children (POSAS overall impression p = 0.040; appearance p = 0.002 in omphalocele). PSAQ revealed discrepancies regarding scar-related symptoms (p = 0.006) and satisfaction (p = 0.009 total; p = 0.038 omphalocele). Parents tended to underestimate children's physical complaints (p = 0.099). No differences were found between defect types. SF-36 indicated high overall quality of life (mean 79.9 ± 13.3).

Conclusion: Significant parent-child differences exist in scar perception. Parents emphasize cosmetic concerns, whereas children report physical symptoms. Larger studies are warranted to guide tailored postoperative support.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of Soave and Swenson procedures in the treatment of Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) through meta-analysis, and to provide evidence-based support for surgical choice.

Methods: A systematic search of Chinese and English databases was performed to identify clinical studies comparing the two procedures. Extracted outcomes included perioperative parameters, postoperative complications, and long-term bowel function. Data were analyzed using Review Manager 5.4.1 and Stata 17.0.

Results: Eleven retrospective cohort studies involving 972 children (506 Soave, 466 Swenson) were included. Compared with Soave, Swenson was associated with shorter operative time (MD: 26.39 min; 95% CI: 11.32-41.46; P < 0.001), reduced intraoperative blood loss (MD: 15.53 ml; 95% CI: 13.83-17.24; P < 0.001), and shorter postoperative hospital stay (MD: 1.50 days; 95% CI: 0.27-2.72; P = 0.02). No significant differences were found in early complications. Postoperative constipation was less frequent after Swenson (OR = 2.20; 95% CI: 1.04-4.64; P = 0.04), while no significant differences were observed for Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis (HAEC), urinary retention, or other long-term outcomes.

Conclusion: The Soave and Swenson procedures each have their own characteristics. Swenson improves surgical efficiency and reduces constipation, while Soave, with its clearer anatomical planes, may lower the risk of pelvic nerve injury and remains widely applied. Surgical choice should be individualized, and prospective multicentre studies are needed to optimize long-term outcomes in HSCR.

Purpose: To describe characteristics of offspring born to mothers having an anorectal malformation (ARM).

Methods: This was a national population-based cohort study. The exposed group was the offspring of females with an ARM diagnosis (ICD-codes) in the Swedish National Patient Register 1964-2008. The unexposed group was the offspring of mothers without ARM. Five age-matched mothers without ARM were randomly identified for each mother with ARM by Statistics Sweden. Females with chromosomal aberrations were excluded prior to analysis. Outcomes of the mothers were retrieved from the National Patient Register (1964-2021) and Medical Birth Register (1973-2021). Outcomes of the offspring were based on data from Medical Birth Register. Using descriptive statistics, the children of mothers with an ARM were compared to children of mothers not having an ARM. The ethical review authorities approved the study.

Results: The mothers included 464 females with ARM and 2313 females without ARM. Of the 464 females with ARM, 132 (28.4%) gave birth to at least one child compared with 895 (38.7%) females without ARM (p < 0.001). The 132 first-born children of mothers with ARM were born at an 8-day younger median gestational age (272 days) when compared to children to mothers without ARM (280 days) (p < 0.001). The infants to mothers with ARM were more commonly small for gestational age (n = 10, 7.6%) than infants to mothers without ARM (n = 28, 3.1%) (p = 0.012). Initial results also showed that the first offspring to ARM mothers were statistically lighter and shorter than the offspring to mothers without ARM (p < 0.001), however, after adjusting for gestational age in a linear regression model, this was no longer the case (p = 0.398 and p = 0.255, respectively). Three first-born offspring in the group of mothers with an ARM, whereas no offspring from mothers without ARM had an ARM.

Conclusion: The first-born child of mothers with ARM are more commonly small for gestational age than the first-born of mothers without ARM. The offspring to mothers with ARM more commonly had an ARM.

Level of evidence iii:

Background: The conventional management of long gap oesophageal atresia (LGOA) typically involves the insertion of a gastrostomy shortly after birth. This is our experience with laparoscopic gastrostomy tube (LGt) insertion in newborns diagnosed with LGOA.

Methods: A retrospective review of medical records for cases of LGOA that underwent laparoscopic-assisted Seldinger gastrostomy placement between 2019 and 2024. A 5 mm camera and 3 mm instruments were used to place transabdominal sutures to the stomach, which was then punctured with a needle and insufflated with 2 ml of air. A Seldinger wire and dilators were then used to insert a balloon gastrostomy tube. The sutures were tied extra-corporeally.

Results: Eight newborns with LGOA underwent LGt (median gestation 36.5 weeks, age 2 days, birth weight 2.2 kg. Seven neonates were fitted with a 12Fr gastrostomy tube, while one premature infant (33-week gestation, 1.4 kg) had an 8Fr Foley catheter. A contrast study was performed the following day to confirm the correct position of the feeding tube, and feeding was initiated after 24 h. There were no immediate complications or instances of tube displacement observed. Ultimately, all patients successfully underwent staged thoracoscopic repair of their LGOA using external traction sutures.

Conclusions: The insertion of LGt proved to be safe, in our series despite the tiny size of their stomachs. This minimally invasive approach offers several advantages, including excellent visualization, reduced liver retraction, and less manipulation of the stomach. Additionally, it may lead to fewer adhesions, which is an important factor to consider since many patients with LGOA will require fundoplication in the future.

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology and clinical presentation of children with pectus carinatum; and the outcome of their first hospital clinic appointment.

Methods: A single surgeon, retrospective cohort study of children presenting between 1998 and 2022. Demographic and clinical data were collected from the medical record.

Results: We present 430 children with pectus carinatum; 364 boys and 66 girls. Their asymmetry was identified at a median age of 11 years (range 0-16 years). Girls developed carinae earlier than boys (10 vs 14 years, p = 0.003), were more likely to present with pain (44% vs 26%, p = 0.041) and were more likely to have a family history of chest wall deformity (33% vs 20%, p = 0.070). The majority (342, 69%) had an asymmetrical, isolated carinatum. Isolated carinae were mainly right dominant (174, 57%), conversely, mixed carinatum/ excavatum were typically left side dominant (10/15 vs 2/15, p = 0.008).

Conclusion: The clinical presentation of carinatum is heterogenous with apparent differences between males and females. A detailed history and examination are required; if clinicians record, in detail, the clinical context and morphology of the carinatum, a comparison of phenotype and outcome would become feasible. Simply stating "Carinatum" is not enough.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of injection sclerotherapy in the management of reducible rectal prolapse (RP) in children.

Methods: Children with reducible RP who underwent sclerotherapy with Kinurea-H^® (quinine dihydrochloride/urea) were retrospectively included, and divided into 2 groups, functional RP (FRP) or organic RP (ORP).

Results: Thirty-two patients were included, 18 FRP and 14 ORP (7 anorectal malformation (ARM), 2 anorexia nervosa, 1 Hirschsprung disease, 2 spinal dysraphism, 1 Ehlers-Danlos, 1 short bowel syndrome) with a median age of 4 years. After one injection, the success rate was higher in FRP (78%) than in ORP (21%) (p = 0.0009). After 2-4 injections, success rate was 94% in FRP and 93% in ORP, with a minimal mucosal resection of the fixed portion (less than 5 mm, limited to the ano-cutaneous junction) in 4/7 ARM. Repeated injections were performed at same site in all ORP without ARM, and in only 43% of ORP with ARM. Recurrence of reducible RP after the first injection at one site was associated with ORP (p = 0.03), particularly in ORP without ARM (p = 0.06).

Conclusion: Sclerotherapy for reducible RP is efficient after failure of conservative management in FRP and success rate after repeated injections is encouraging in ORP, particularly in ARM.

Purpose: This study aims to explore maternal and pregnancy-related risk factors for colonic atresia (CA) and assess the national total prevalence, mortality, and frequency of co-occurring anomalies of this rare malformation in 2004-2017.

Methods: This case-control study involved 36 cases with congenital CA identified from several Finnish registers. All cases were identified based on the ICD-9/ICD-10 codes and classified based on co-occurring anomalies. Five controls without gastrointestinal congenital malformations matched for residence and time of conception (± 1 year) were randomly selected for each case. Maternal risk factors were analyzed with data from the same registers.

Results: Total prevalence of CA was 0.45/10,000, birth prevalence was 0.37/10,000 and live birth prevalence was 0.36/10,000. The overall prevalence trend did not change (p = 0.11) during the study period. There were 15 (41.7%) isolated cases, 3 (8.3%) were associated with known syndromes and 18 (50.0%) had multiple congenital anomalies. Together there were 19.4% (n = 7) terminations or neonatal mortalities. An association was observed with maternal diabetes and CA (p = 0.03).

Conclusion: The prevalence of CA in Finland is low with no significant change over the study period. Despite the high frequency of associated anomalies, the overall survival of CA is very high, 97%.

Objective: To explore the therapeutic efficacy and technical characteristics of pneumovesical Cohen ureteral reimplantation (PCUR) versus laparoscopic dismembered Lich-Gregoir ureteral reimplantation (LLGR) in the treatment of primary obstructive megaureter (POM) in Paediatric Patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 94 paediatric patients with unilateral POM who were admitted to the Department of Paediatric Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between October 2017 and October 2023. Based on the surgical approach, patients were allocated into two groups: 51 cases underwent PCUR, constituting the PCUR group; the remaining 43 cases underwent LLGR, forming the LLGR group. Preoperative baseline characteristics, intraoperative metrics, and postoperative outcomes were compared between the cohorts. The study specifically evaluated the changes in the renal pelvis anteroposterior diameter (APD), the maximum distal ureteral diameter (MDUD), and differential renal function (DRF) on the affected side, comparing preoperative and postoperative values.

Results: No significant differences were observed in preoperative baseline characteristics between the PCUR and LLGR groups. Compared to the PCUR group, the LLGR group was associated with a significantly shorter operative time (Z=-1.473, P = 0.015) and a reduced duration of postoperative haematuria (Z = -4.843, P < 0.001). Preoperative and postoperative measurements of the affected-side APD, MDUD, DRF and RCT were comparable between the two groups, with no statistically significant differences identified. However, intragroup analysis demonstrated a significant postoperative improvement in all three parameters (APD, MDUD, DRF and RCT) within both surgical cohorts. Furthermore, the magnitude of improvement, defined as the delta (Δ) values for APD (ΔAPD; t = -0.310, P = 0.758), MDUD (ΔMDUD; t = -0.418, P = 0.678), DRF (ΔDRF; t = -1.526, P = 0.129), and RCT(△RC; t = -0.431, P = 0.668), did not differ significantly between the groups.

Conclusion: Both PCUR and LLGR are safe and effective in treating paediatric POM. Compared with PCUR, LLGR offers advantages including shorter operative time, reduced duration of postoperative haematuria, broader age range applicability, more spacious surgical field, lower technical difficulty in ureteral tailoring, and no compromise to subsequent endoscopic interventions.