Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Postoperative Ileus Murine Model
Published on: July 12, 2024
High incidence of postoperative bowel obstruction in newborns and infants
Janet Y Young1, Daniel S Kim, Christopher S Muratore
1Division of Pediatric Surgery, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI 02905, USA.
Insights
Postoperative bowel obstruction (PBO) is more common in infants after abdominal surgery. Infants with early PBO are significantly more likely to require reoperation compared to older children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Gastrointestinal Surgery
- Surgical Outcomes
Background:
- Postoperative bowel obstruction (PBO) is a common complication following intra-abdominal surgery.
- Understanding PBO incidence and risk factors is crucial for patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the incidence, risk factors, and need for operative intervention of PBO in pediatric patients.
- To compare PBO rates and outcomes between infants and older children.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of pediatric patients undergoing laparotomy or laparoscopy between 2001 and 2005.
- Analysis of parameters including age, diagnosis, procedure type, complications, and PBO treatment and outcomes.
Main Results:
- Overall PBO incidence was 2.8% (61/2187), with 70.5% requiring reoperation.
- PBO was more frequent in infants (<1 year) (4.7%) than older children (2.1%) (P = .01).
- Infants with early PBO were highly likely to require reoperation (16/17), while older children had higher success with nonoperative treatment if PBO occurred within 12 weeks.
Conclusions:
- Newborns and infants have a significantly higher incidence of PBO than older children.
- Infants are more likely to require surgical intervention for PBO, especially when it occurs early postoperatively.
Background:
Postoperative bowel obstruction (PBO) plagues patients of all ages after intraabdominal surgery. We examined the incidence, risk factors, and the need for operative intervention of PBO.
Methods:
We reviewed all children who underwent a laparotomy or laparoscopy. Parameters included age, diagnosis, type and number of procedures, complications, time interval to PBO, treatment of PBO, morbidity, and mortality.
Results:
From 2001 to 2005, 2187 abdominal operations were performed. Overall, 61 patients (2.8%) developed a PBO; 43 (70.5%) required reoperation. Postoperative bowel obstruction was more common in patients younger than 1 year (28/601, 4.7%) compared with older children (33/1586, 2.1%; P = .01, beta = .80). In infants, PBO was not influenced by initial diagnosis (P = .26) or whether the initial operation was clean/clean-contaminated or contaminated/dirty (P = .12). In children older than 1 year, nonoperative treatment was more likely to be successful if PBO occurred within 12 weeks of initial operation (12/16 vs 3/14; P = .01). In contrast, all but one infant (16/17) with early PBO required reoperation.
Conclusion:
The incidence of PBO is significantly higher in newborns and infants than in older children (who have rates comparable to those reported in adults). Infants are significantly more likely to require operative intervention, particularly if PBO occurs early after the initial operation.
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