Diagnosis, Symptoms, and Outcomes of Hirschsprung’s Disease from the Perspective of Gender

Abstract

Background/Aim . Hirschsprung’s disease (HD) has a skewed gender distribution, with a female to male ratio of 1 : 4. This study aims to examine differences between boys and girls with HD regarding preoperative features and postoperative treatment and outcome. Method . The first part of the study was conducted as a retrospective review of all HD patients who underwent transanal endorectal pull-through (TERPT). Pre-, peri-, immediate post-, and first-year postoperative data were collected. The second part was conducted as an observational cross-sectional study by comparing bowel function scores (BFS) determined by structured interviews of patients 4 years old and older. Results . Included were 39 boys and 12 girls. Of these, 25 boys and 9 girls were older than 4 years and participated in the BFS interview. Boys had a higher frequency of hospitalizations during the first postoperative year compared to girls ( n=20 and n=2 , p<0.05 ). At long-term follow-up, more boys reported abnormal frequency of defecation, 16 compared to 2 ( p<0.05 ). There was no difference between genders in terms of preoperative symptoms and overall bowel function later. Conclusion . Boys with HD had more hospitalizations and a higher rate of abnormal frequency of defecation than girls with HD.