What have we learned about traumatic diaphragmatic hernias in children?

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Diaphragmatic injuries have been reported to be a predictor of serious associated injuries in trauma and a marker of severity. The aim of this retrospective study was to identify pitfalls in the diagnosis and treatment of these injuries in children. METHODS: Data were collected from all patients admitted to the trauma service with traumatic diaphragmatic hernias for the period of January 1977 to August 1998. The authors evaluated 15 cases of traumatic diaphragmatic rupture (6 girls and 9 boys). RESULTS: Mean age was 7.5 years (range, 3 weeks to 15 years). Thirteen patients suffered from blunt trauma, and 2 patients suffered from penetrating trauma. The right and left hemidiaphragms were injured equally (7 patients each), with 1 additional patient suffering from bilateral injuries. All but 1 patient had laparotomies for trauma (n = 14). The diagnosis was made preoperatively in 8 patients (53%) with just a chest radiograph. Computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and oral contrast studies were used as ancillary tests to diagnose traumatic diaphragmatic rupture. There were 3 missed injuries. Associated injuries included liver lacerations (47%), pelvic fractures (47%), major vessels tear (40%), bowel perforations (33%), long bone fractures (20%), renal lacerations (20%), splenic lacerations (13%), and closed head injuries (13%). The mean hospital stay was 20 days (range, 7 to 60 days). Complications were observed most commonly in those patients with multiple injuries and included postoperative ileus (40%), pneumonia (30%), pancreatitis (20%), wound infection (20%), intestinal obstruction (20%), cholestasis (10%), and renal failure (6%). Five deaths (33%) were caused by hemorrhagic shock, respiratory failure, coagulopathy, and refractory acidosis. CONCLUSIONS: Traumatic diaphragmatic hernias usually are associated with serious injuries in children. It is important to combine a high index of suspicion with radiological diagnostic tests in patients at risk. Palpation and/or visualization of both diaphragms at laparotomy is extremely important in detecting these injuries when they are not suspected preoperatively.

Microgastria as an isolated anomaly.

The authors report the case of an 8-year-old boy who had isolated microgastria. The patient had required lifelong jejunal tube feeding because of inadequate gastric volume and intractable gastroesophageal reflux. Gastric augmentation was performed with a Roux-en-Y jejunal reservoir (Hunt-Lawrence pouch), with good results.

Developmental susceptibility to intestinal injury by platelet-activating factor in the newborn rat.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is an important endogenous mediator of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Injection of PAF into weanling and adult rats causes ischemic bowel necrosis that is morphologically similar to NEC. The purpose of this study was to adapt the PAF model of intestinal injury to the suckling rat and to attempt to alter susceptibility to PAF-induced bowel necrosis by early weaning and formula feeds. At ages 15 to 20 days, rat pups were selected to be weaned to either formula or 5% dextrose or to nurse ad lib (total n = 54). At ages 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, or 25 days of life, animals received PAF (50 micrograms/kg) and endotoxin (1 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection. Animals were sacrificed 2 h after injection. Intestinal samples were submitted to be graded by a pathologist in a blinded fashion. Injury scores ranged from 0 to 10, based on the percentage of villous necrosis. Prior to age 20 days, minimal histologic injury was present (mean scores on days 16, 18 = 1.7 +/- 0.9, 1.7 +/- 0.6). Combined injury scores for weaned and nursed animals on days 20 and 23 were significantly greater than on days 16 and 18 (p = .0001). Histologic injury in the dextrose group was significantly less than the formula-fed group on day 21 and greater on day 25. Suckling rats showed resistance to PAF-induced bowel necrosis prior to 20 days of age, during the middle of the weaning period. Early weaning to formula did not alter susceptibility to injury, which suggests that PAF-acetylhydrolase from breast milk does not confer this resistance to PAF.