Intestinal Obstruction

This study explores the use of an exclusive human milk diet versus standard feeding practices to compare the influence on feeding outcomes and the gut bacteria in infants with intestinal differences.

The Saudi Emergency Laparotomy Audit (SELA) is a national, multicenter observational clinical audit designed to evaluate outcomes and quality of care for patients undergoing emergency laparotomy in Saudi Arabia. The audit will collect standardized data on patient characteristics, comorbidities, perioperative processes, and postoperative outcomes through a retrospective baseline phase followed by a prospective registry phase. SELA aims to establish national benchmarks, assess applicability of international risk models, support development of a Saudi-specific risk prediction tool, and drive quality improvement through systematic feedback and benchmarking across participating hospitals.

Neonatal intestinal obstruction is one of the most common surgical emergencies in newborns. In some cases, signs of possible intestinal obstruction can already be detected during pregnancy through prenatal ultrasound. However, not all prenatal ultrasound findings accurately predict whether a newborn will truly have an intestinal obstruction after birth. The purpose of this retrospective observational study is to evaluate which prenatal ultrasound findings are most strongly associated with confirmed intestinal obstruction after birth. In particular, the study aims to identify a specific cutoff value for fetal bowel dilation that best predicts postnatal intestinal obstruction. Other prenatal ultrasound features, such as excess amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios), ascites, echogenic bowel, and other abdominal findings, will also be analyzed. The study will include newborns with a prenatal suspicion of intestinal obstruction who were evaluated at Meyer Children's Hospital between January 2016 and December 2024. Researchers will review existing medical records and ultrasound data. No additional tests or interventions will be performed for study purposes. The results of this study may help improve prenatal counseling, optimize delivery planning in specialized centers, and support early postnatal management of newborns at risk for intestinal obstruction.

Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction Syndrome (CIPO) is a rare gastrointestinal motility disorder. CIPO evolves through iterative flare-ups that can be triggered by viral or bacterial infections, psychological stress, or malnutrition. All of these factors are associated with dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota (IM). Many studies have associated visceral pain with dysbiosis of the IM, particularly in the context of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a painful pathology associated with transit disorders. The team in Dr. Cénac's laboratory has demonstrated the analgesic effect of a bacterial lipid produced by an intestinal bacterium in the context of IBS. The study hypothesize that CIPO patients have a taxonomic and functional dysbiosis of the IM responsible for hyperactivation of sensory neurons inducing visceral pain.