This study examines Hirschsprung’s disease, a condition present from birth where nerve cells are missing from parts of the intestine, causing problems with passing stool. The condition affects the lower part of the bowel, specifically the rectum and sometimes the sigmoid colon, which is the curved part of the large intestine just above the rectum. The study will use sodium butyrate enemas, which are liquid treatments inserted into the rectum. Butyrate is a substance naturally produced by bacteria in the intestine. A diagnostic agent will also be used during the study to help assess how the intestine is working.
The purpose of the study is to see if using butyrate enemas before surgery can help shorten the time it takes for normal bowel function to return after the operation that corrects Hirschsprung’s disease. The study will involve newborns who have been diagnosed with the short-segment form of Hirschsprung’s disease in their first two months of life. These infants will have been successfully managed with bowel irrigations before their corrective surgery. The treatment with butyrate enemas will be given before the surgery takes place.
During the study, doctors will measure how long it takes for the bowel to start working normally again after surgery. They will also watch for signs of bowel blockage symptoms after the operation, check stool consistency using a standard scale designed for children, measure how long it takes for food to pass completely through the intestine using a red dye called carmine, and monitor for any episodes of inflammation of the intestine. The study will also include measuring a substance called calprotectin in the stool, which helps show if there is inflammation in the intestine.
France 
