Neonatal duodenal obstruction with emphasis on cases with Down's syndrome

In the past 31 years, 47 cases of duodenal obstruction were admitted to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Thirty-six per cent of these had Down's syndrome. The crude mortality was 48% but this figure was reduced to 33% in the last five years of the study. The combination of duodenal obstruction, Down's syndrome and any other abnormality carried an 89% risk of mortality.