Meconium peritonitis

Recent advances in imaging the fetus in uterine have brought about the knowledge of prenatal process of the meconium peritonitis (mp), a chemical peritonitis by intestinal perforation, which was unknown hitherto. This paper describes the retrospective examination of perinatal diagnosis, treatment and management of mp essentially based on authors' experiences. Subjects are 18 fetuses (6.9%) with mp or suspicious mp/260 with possible diseases necessary for surgery during the period Mar. 2002-Dec. 2007. All subjects received ultrasonography (US) and MR imaging and were diagnosed as mp in 12 cases (66.7%). Seven cases were found to be in the fibroadhesive type (FA), 4 in cystic type (C) and 1 in generalized type (G), and neonates with the second and third types tended to be resulted in premature birth. The causes were found by laparotomy to be due to intestinal atresia (10 cases, 83.3%), atresia complicated with aproctia (1) and midgut axial volvulus (1). FA underwent intestinal anastomosis, and C and G, peritoneal drainage followed by anastomosis. For more appropriate perinatal management and possible prenatal surgery, needed is further elucidation of clinical features and pathophysiology of the disease. (R.T.)