The damaged colon must be surgically removed when Hirschsprung disease (HD) is present, although the best age for the procedure was unknown. For a study, researchers sought to determine the age at aganglionic segment resection affected surgical results.
All consecutive HD children aged 8 years or older (n = 830) who had a care in one of the 6 pediatric surgical facilities between 1957 and 2015 were included in a cross-sectional cohort analysis. The following outcome variables were taken from the medical records: death, postoperative complications, stoma rate, and surgical redo rate. Additionally, the rate of long-term constipation and fecal incontinence was evaluated using the Defecation and Continence Questionnaire (DeFeC and P-DeFeC).
After reviewing the medical records of 830 patients, 346 of the 619 eligible patients answered the follow-up questionnaires, constituting a 56% response rate. Regardless of the length of the aganglionic segment and surgical technique, there was a slight increase in the risk of both a permanent and temporary stoma with age at surgery (odds ratio (OR) 1.01 (95% CI: 1.00-1.02; P=0.019 and 1.01 (95% CI: 1.00-1.01; P=0.022, respectively). Age at surgery was not linked to the likelihood and severity of constipation and fecal incontinence in the long run, both when adjusted and when uncorrected for operation method, duration of disease, and temporary stoma.
The best time to have surgery for HD couldn’t be identified since there was no evidence in the research to suggest that the age at surgery affects surgical results.
Reference: journals.lww.com/jpgn/Abstract/2022/10000/Did_Age_at_Surgery_Influence_Outcome_in_Patients.9.aspx
