Early diverting colostomy for perianal sepsis in children with acute leukemia.
Perineal sepsis is a life-threatening complication of acute leukemia. Although conservative management (antibiotics, incision, and drainage, alone or in combination) is considered the criterion standard, it provides an outcome that is not fully satisfactory, with an overall mortality of roughly 30%. This report presents a case series of 4 children who underwent early defunctioning colostomy for the treatment of perineal sepsis during leukemia. This management proved to be successful and allowed prompt reestablishment of chemotherapy, thus improving overall results. Routine application of this "aggressive" management in these cases will presumably increase overall survival of children with leukemia.
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Giannina Gaslini Institute, 16100 Genoa, Italy. alessiopiniprato@ospedale-gaslini.ge.it
Alessio
A
Pini Prato
Elio
E
Castagnola
Concetta
C
Micalizzi
Carlo
C
Dufour
Stefano
S
Avanzini
Luca
L
Pio
Edoardo
E
Guida
Girolamo
G
Mattioli
Vincenzo
V
Jasonni
Nicola
N
Disma
Leila
L
Mameli
Giovanni
G
Montobbio
Piero
P
Buffa
D001003:Anal Canal; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003125:Colostomy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010502:Perineum; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000150:complications*; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult