Non-surgical causes of bilious vomiting in neonates admitted in a tertiary center

Bilious vomiting is highly suggestive of an acute and emergent condition among neonates. The aim of this study was to investigate the non-surgical causes of bilious vomiting in neonates admitted to a tertiary center and to compare them with the surgical causes.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 80 infants with bilious vomiting who were admitted at the neonatal intensive care unit of a pediatric tertiary center over 2 years. The demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms and signs, diagnostic assessments and therapeutic approaches were recorded.

The mean age of neonates was 9.07 ± 8.84 days and 55% of them were males. The most common final diagnosis was: Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), duodenal atresia, Hirschsprung’s disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), volvulus, sepsis, meconium plug, isolated mal-rotation, metabolic abnormalities, imperforate anus, and Ladd’s bands, respectively. Abnormal findings in ultrasound and X-rays were detected in 35% and 46.3%, respectively. About half of the affected neonates were treated non-surgically. Overall, 17.5% of the patients died.  Most deaths were seen in infants with NEC. Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, the presence of NEC as an underlying etiology was the only predictor of neonatal death in neonates with bilious vomiting (OR = 12.455, 95%CI: 1.365 – 113.618, P = 0.025).

The most common cause of bilious vomiting was NEC followed by duodenal atresia. Half of the neonates with bilious vomiting were treated medically without operation