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Hirschsprung's disease - Symptom

Alternative Names

Congenital megacolon

Symptoms:

Symptoms that may be present in newborns and infants include:

  • Difficulty with bowel movements
  • Failure to pass meconium shortly after birth
  • Failure to pass a first stool within 24 - 48 hours after birth
  • Infrequent but explosive stools
  • Jaundice
  • Poor feeding
  • Poor weight gain
  • Vomiting
  • Watery diarrhea (in the newborn)

Symptoms in older children:

  • Constipation that gradually gets worse
  • Fecal impaction
  • Malnutrition
  • Slow growth
  • Swollen belly

Signs and tests:

Milder cases may not be diagnosed until a later age.

During a physical examination, the doctor may be able to feel loops of bowel in the swollen belly. A rectal examination may reveal a loss of muscle tone in the rectal muscles.

Tests used to help diagnose Hirschsprung's disease may include:

  • Abdominal x-ray
  • Anal manometry (a balloon is inflated in the rectum to measure pressure in the area)
  • Barium enema
  • Rectal biopsy
  • Reviewed last on: 11/2/2009
  • Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Kessmann J. Hirschsprung's Disease: Diagnosis and Management. Am Fam Phys. 2006;74:1319-1322.

Wyllie R. Motility disorders and Hirschsprung disease. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2007:chap 329.

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