Red flags: Abdominal distension- Distension may be an early sign of necrotising enterocolitis in premature infants
- Early referral to a specialist surgical centre is often required
- Repeated episodes without surgical cause suggest chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction
Differential diagnosis
- With mass: see Chapter 13:
- Constipation with impaction
- Malignancy: intra- or retro-peritoneal
- Inflammatory mass, e.g. appendicitis, Crohn’s disease, Meckel’s diverticulitis
- Renal/bladder obstruction
- Choledochal cyst
- Duplication cyst
- Constipation with impaction
- With organomegaly: see Chapters 20 and 26
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