Problems raised by the management of neonatal obstruction in Lome, Togo. A review of 27 cases

Twenty-seven cases of intestinal obstruction in full-term neonates were treated between 1992 and 1995. Mean age at admission was 3 days (range, 2-7 days). There was an equal sex-ratio. Twenty-five per cent of patients had proximal obstruction (without abdominal distension) and 75% had distal obstruction. The cause was a malformation of the duodenum or small bowel in 60% of cases and Hirschsprung's disease or an anorectal malformation in 40%. Mortality rate was 51.85%.