Enterocolitis in a Child With Hirschsprung Disease.

Publication/Presentation Date

7-2019

Abstract

Hirschsprung disease is a congenital abnormality that can be surgically corrected. However, Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis can be a life-threatening sequela. Very little has been published in the emergency medicine literature about the risk of enterocolitis and shock in patients with a history of Hirschsprung disease. We describe the case of a 6-month-old male infant with a history of multiple surgeries for Hirschsprung disease who presented to the emergency department with a seemingly benign viral gastrointestinal illness. His stable condition led him to be discharged. However, 4 days later, he returned to the emergency department with severe diarrhea and was subsequently admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit for the management of enterocolitis and shock. With this case report, we aim to raise emergency physicians' awareness of the serious and possibly fatal complications of Hirschsprung disease. We argue that this single element of a patient's medical history can alter the management of seemingly simple viral gastrointestinal illnesses; rather than be discharged, such a patient requires surgical consultation and possibly admission for close monitoring and treatment.

Volume

35

Issue

7

First Page

e131

Last Page

e132

ISSN

1535-1815

Disciplines

Emergency Medicine

PubMedID

28328696

Department(s)

Department of Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty, USF-LVHN SELECT Program, USF-LVHN SELECT Program Students

Document Type

Article

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