Problems in diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease by anorectal manometry.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the results of anorectal manometry and to evaluate the merits and disadvantages of this technique for the diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease. Studies were performed in 268 patients with constipation, including 95 cases of Hirschsprung's disease. It is concluded from the results that Hirschsprung's disease can be confidently diagnosed by manometric studies. If the studies are performed carefully with a suitable probe, reliability is over 95%. Manometry is the most useful method to differentiate Hirschsprung's disease from other conditions, such as extremely short segment aganglionosis, colonic stenosis, and idiopathic megacolon.