Acute Presentation of Anomalies of the Digestive Tract During the Neonatal Period

During the neonatal period, obstruction of the digestive tract often represents a surgical emergency and therefore, a rapid and accurate diagnosis is mandatory. In the era of obstetrical US and antenatal diagnosis, some pathologies will be detected in utero and managed immediately after birth (see also Chapter 5). Yet, the rate of antenatal diagnosis of digestive tract anomalies is still low (30-50%) and many diagnosis will be achieved after birth only mainly on the basis of acute abdominal symptoms. Furthermore, several among the malformations – e.g. Hirschprung disease – are only exceptionally suspected in utero and most cases will be discovered after birth. Some others will present symptoms only after birth (e.g. small left colon).