Contrast enema (Hirschsprung´s disease)

Contrast enema in a 2-day-old newborn with delayed evacuation of meconium. The whole colon is visible. The sigmoid is narrow in relation to the more or less dilated transverse, ascending, and descending colon. These findings are typical for Hirschsprung's disease with a transition zone between the sigmoid and the descending colon. A funnel-shaped transitional zone is not always clearly recognizable, may be absent, or is not visible due to superimposition. In the neonate, contrast enema is in more than 75% diagnostic. Because it may be negative, the diagnosis must be based on different work-up examinations.