UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: What's the Diagnosis? Case by Dr. Swati Singh

Posted: 7/27/2014 by Haney Mallemat, MD (Updated: 7/28/2014)
Click here to contact Haney Mallemat, MD

2-day old baby boy presents with forceful vomiting of entire feeds, bloated belly, and has not passed stools since birth. What's the diagnosis?

Colonic atresia

Colonic Atresia

Condition in which a part of the colon has not formed correctly; colon is completely blocked or missing altogether. The colon is the rarest site of atresia in the GI tract.
Diagnosis may be suggested in prenatal sonograms and is usually revealed in affected newborns shortly after birth.
Patients usually present with vomiting, abdominal distention, and failure to pass meconium.
Differential includes:
- Small bowel atresia
- Meconium plug syndrome
- Hirschsprung's disease
Treatment is supportive and ultimately surgical correction

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