title: An unusual presentation of sacral agenesis in a newborn baby.
abstract: A potentially difficult situation can arise when a sick newborn baby presents with a common clinical sign that subsequently turns out to be a manifestation of a rare condition. The baby's birth sometimes results in the diagnosis of a new condition in other members of the family. Necrotising enterocolitis is the commonest surgical condition among babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We report a case where abdominal distension in an acutely ill baby at high risk of necrotising enterocolitis masqueraded as an unusual presentation of familial sacral agenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Canberra Hospital, Australia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oei
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Koh
mesh_terms: D004200:Diseases in Twins; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012447:Sacrum / Q000002:abnormalities*