Maricarmen Olivos1, Catalina Correa2, Luis De la Torre3. 1. Hospital de Niños Roberto del Río, Santiago, Chile. 2. Hospital Militar Central, Bogotá, Colombia. 3. Children's Hospital Colorado, International Center for Colorectal and Urogenital Care, Aurora, CO, USA. luis.delatorre@childrenscolorado.org.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The gold standard for the diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is a rectal biopsy. The sample may be obtained using a transanal excisional biopsy (TEB) or suction technique. Rectal suction biopsy (RSB) is not a standard procedure in Latin-America. AIM: To evaluate the current practice in rectal biopsy for HD among pediatric surgeons. METHODS: We distributed an online questionnaire among Latin-American pediatric surgeons. RESULTS: One hundred forty-nine pediatric surgeons from 15 countries completed the anonymous survey (71.4% of Latin-American countries), grouped into 81.9% pediatric surgeons; 8.9% pediatric colorectal surgeons, 8.9% trainees, and 1 pediatric colorectal surgeon fellow. 50.4% reported less than 5 new patients with HD per year, 36.2% 5-10 new cases, and 13.4% more than 10. Only 14.1% of surgeons have access to perform a RSB in the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected HD, 90% in our study perform an TEB under general anesthesia. When we ask if they could perform both procedures in babies up to 6 months, 52.3% indicate that they prefer an RSB, and for patients older than 6 months, 35.4% favor an RSB. Regarding the number of samples obtained performing an TEB, 30.9% get one biopsy, 29.5% two biopsies, and 39.6% three or more samples. Surgeons obtained the most proximal biopsy at a median of 2.3 cm (range 1-4 cm) above the pectinate line. 67.8% of surgeons prescribed antibiotic prophylaxis. Overall, 16.1% experienced complications, including rectal blood loss (n = 18), and rectal perforation (n = 3). The most frequently used staining methods for rectal biopsies are hematoxylin/eosin (87%), calretinin (56, 8%), and acetylcholinesterase (21.9%). CONCLUSIONS: In Latin-America, the accessibility for RSB is limited only 18 out of 149 surgeons have access to rectal suction tool. There is no consensus regarding sample number, site of proximal biopsy, and antibiotics use. The complications associated with the procedure seems to be less than reported with RSB. Therefore, we should standardize this common surgical practice and establish universal guidelines for rectal biopsy procedure (RBP).
PURPOSE: The gold standard for the diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is a rectal biopsy. The sample may be obtained using a transanal excisional biopsy (TEB) or suction technique. Rectal suction biopsy (RSB) is not a standard procedure in Latin-America. AIM: To evaluate the current practice in rectal biopsy for HD among pediatric surgeons. METHODS: We distributed an online questionnaire among Latin-American pediatric surgeons. RESULTS: One hundred forty-nine pediatric surgeons from 15 countries completed the anonymous survey (71.4% of Latin-American countries), grouped into 81.9% pediatric surgeons; 8.9% pediatric colorectal surgeons, 8.9% trainees, and 1 pediatric colorectal surgeon fellow. 50.4% reported less than 5 new patients with HD per year, 36.2% 5-10 new cases, and 13.4% more than 10. Only 14.1% of surgeons have access to perform a RSB in the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected HD, 90% in our study perform an TEB under general anesthesia. When we ask if they could perform both procedures in babies up to 6 months, 52.3% indicate that they prefer an RSB, and for patients older than 6 months, 35.4% favor an RSB. Regarding the number of samples obtained performing an TEB, 30.9% get one biopsy, 29.5% two biopsies, and 39.6% three or more samples. Surgeons obtained the most proximal biopsy at a median of 2.3 cm (range 1-4 cm) above the pectinate line. 67.8% of surgeons prescribed antibiotic prophylaxis. Overall, 16.1% experienced complications, including rectal blood loss (n = 18), and rectal perforation (n = 3). The most frequently used staining methods for rectal biopsies are hematoxylin/eosin (87%), calretinin (56, 8%), and acetylcholinesterase (21.9%). CONCLUSIONS: In Latin-America, the accessibility for RSB is limited only 18 out of 149 surgeons have access to rectal suction tool. There is no consensus regarding sample number, site of proximal biopsy, and antibiotics use. The complications associated with the procedure seems to be less than reported with RSB. Therefore, we should standardize this common surgical practice and establish universal guidelines for rectal biopsy procedure (RBP).
Authors: Devin R Halleran; Hira Ahmad; Haley Lehmkuhl; Peter Baker; Richard J Wood; Marc A Levitt; Jeremy G Fisher Journal: J Pediatr Surg Date: 2019-10-25 Impact factor: 2.545