Hypertonic saline enema in gastrointestinal ascariasis

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Infectious Diseases
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Ascariasis can lead to severe surgical complications, including intestinal obstruction and perforation.
• These complications result in significant morbidity and mortality in pediatric populations.
• Conservative and surgical treatments are employed for gastrointestinal ascariasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the efficacy of conservative and surgical treatments for gastrointestinal ascariasis.
• To evaluate the success rate of conservative management, particularly hypertonic saline enemas.
• To determine the safety and effectiveness of hypertonic saline enemas in treating ascariasis.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 250 pediatric cases of gastrointestinal ascariasis.
• Analysis of outcomes for conservative treatment, focusing on hypertonic saline enemas.
• Comparison with surgical interventions.

Main Results:

• Conservative treatment achieved a high success rate of 95.6%.
• Hypertonic saline enemas effectively disintegrate worm boluses in the terminal ileum.
• The treatment increases intestinal motility and facilitates worm passage.

Conclusions:

• Hypertonic saline enema is a safe and effective conservative treatment for gastrointestinal ascariasis.
• This method is underutilized and should be more widely adopted.
• It offers a successful alternative for managing ascariasis complications.