Peritoneal drainage in pneumoperitoneum in extremely low birth weight infants.

Abstract

We suggest PD with close evaluation of drainage and clinical course as an alternative treatment for pneumoperitoneum in ELBW infants allowing bridging the vulnerable first days of life until these infants are in a more stable condition. Despite not reaching statistical significance in our series, PD showed the trend towards higher mortality. What is known: • Pneumoperitoneum is traditionally treated with laparotomy, but placement of peritoneal drainage (PD) is a valuable treatment option. • Previous randomized controlled trials have shown no significant differences in mortality for PD versus laparotomy. What is new: • In our cohort, 38% of the infants with PD could be saved from secondary laparotomy, but in the PD group there was a trend towards higher mortality. • PD allows bridging the vulnerable first days of life until ELBW infants are in a more stable condition for possible laparotomy.