Exploring congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in preterm and low weight infants: A Western China perspective

Purpose

To retrospectively analyze the clinical characteristics of congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (CHPS) patients with different gestational ages and admission weights.

Materials and methods

The clinical records of CHPS patients between 2008 and 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were classified into two main groups: premature group and full-term group. Moreover, they were further divided into two subgroups based on their admission weight, namely the ≤3 kg group and the >3 kg group.

Results

The median age at the onset of the disease for premature infants was found to be later than that for full-term infants, with values of 29.00 days and 22.00 days respectively (P = 0.015). In terms of the proportion of patients with dehydration, it was significantly higher in the premature infants group compared to the full-term infants group, reaching 45.83 % and 25.30 % respectively (P = 0.026). Regarding the median pyloric muscle thickness, it was 0.45 (0.43–0.515) cm in the weight ≤3 kg group and 0.48 (0.43-0.53) cm in the weight >3 kg group, with a significant difference (P = 0.028).

Conclusion

There are distinct differences in the clinical characteristics of CHPS patients with different gestational ages at birth and admission weights. Premature infants show a later onset age and a higher proportion of dehydration. Additionally, the pyloric muscle thickness is also related to the admission weight of infants.