Diagnostic Pitfalls in Meconium-Related Ileus: Red Flags for Surgical Pathologies in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants.

In extremely low birth weight infants with suspected meconium-related ileus, the failure of enema therapy was significantly associated with underlying non-meconium-related ileus surgical pathologies.

Although these findings require validation in larger cohorts, delayed initiation of therapeutic enema or repeated procedures without sustained improvement should prompt reassessment for non-meconium-related ileus surgical pathology and early surgical consultation.