Meckel's Diverticulum In a Premature Infant

Abstract

To the Editor:— Since Meckel's description of the congenital diverticulum of the small intestine in 1809, 1 the medical literature discussing this anomaly has increased steadily. We report the case of a 36-hour-old premature infant with a giant Meckel's diverticulum visualized as a gas shadow on the roentgenogram of the abdomen. Report of A Case:— This 1,830-gm premature male infant was born spontaneously (breech presentation) to a gravida 2, para 1, 33-year-old Negro mother on Dec 10, 1965, at Charity Hospital, New Orleans. The date of the mother's last menstrual period was unknown. Serologic tests for syphilis performed on blood obtained at delivery showed a positive VDRL slide test at one dilution and a weakly positive Kolmer's test. The amniotic sac leaked for approximately 24 hours prior to delivery. After birth, the Apgar score was 6 at one minute and 8 at five minutes. On admission to the Premature Center, this