Incidence, diagnostics, therapeutic management and outcomes of paediatric intestinal pseudo-obstruction in the Netherlands: A 20-year retrospective cohort study

Objectives: To describe incidence, clinical course, diagnostic and therapeutic management and long-term follow-up of paediatric intestinal pseudo-obstruction (PIPO) in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2020. Methods: Multicenter, national, retrospective, observational study including patients aged <18 years diagnosed with PIPO and treated between 2000 and 2020 in Dutch academic medical centres. Outcomes included demographics, incidence, symptoms, diagnostic- and treatment methods used during follow-up, number of hospital admissions and mortality. Results: Between 2000 and 2020, 43 children (median age 120 months, range 13 – 301, 54% female) were diagnosed with PIPO in the Netherlands. Mean incidence was 0.008/100,000/years (range 0/100 000–0.029/100 000). Twenty-six patients developed PIPO in the neonatal period. Initial symptoms were vomiting (n = 21/35, 60%) and abdominal distension (n = 14/35, 40%). Diagnostic strategies included imaging, manometry, histopathology, metabolic- and genetic screening, endoscopy and exploratory surgery. Treatment was divided in nutritional support, pharmacotherapy, colonic irrigation and surgical interventions, of which nutrition and surgery were the cornerstones for care. During the observed study period, the median number of hospital admissions was 22.5 (range 1–176) with a median of 157.5 days (range 3–840) during 20-year follow-up. Two patients (6%) died: one from sepsis and one due to a severe underlying neurological disease. Heterogeneity in diagnostic- en treatment methods existed between patients. Conclusions: PIPO is a rare, long-lasting complex disease requiring a high number of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions and hospital admissions. However, mortality rate is relatively low. Based on our results, we recommend centralization and standardization of care for this complex rare disease.