[Ileus and intestinal perforation in premature infants--current trends in diagnosis and treatment].

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY: a) assessment of the relationship between ileus of premature infants and the development of intestinal perforation in premature infants, b) suggestions of an optimal therapeutic procedure. In the study children (n = 50) are included a) with intestinal perforation in conjunction with impaired excretion of meconium (n = 22), b) with an ileus state based on obstruction of the ileum by a viscous meconium treated either surgically or conservatively (n = 28). Surgical treatment involved: a) establishment of a double ileostomy (n = 28), b) insertion of a T drain into the terminal ileum (n = 8), c) removal of meconium from the gut and its primary closure (n = 2). Conservative treatment in 11 children involved irrigography with an liquid contrast substance under X-ray control. The group of children with perforation was compared with the group of children without perforation, risk factors were evaluated by statistical methods. The necessity of ventilation (P = 0.051) and gestation age (P = 0.006) proved to be statistically significant risk factors for the development of perforation. Survival was not influenced by perforation. All 11 children treated conservatively survived, of 39 operated children 26 survived (66.7%). An early start of conservative treatment of ileus of premature infants reduces markedly the risk of intestinal perforation and can thus influence the survival of low birth weight neonates.