Gastroschisis, a congenital anterior abdominal wall defect: a rare clinical image

Ashna Gledina, Seema Singh

PAMJ. 2022; 42:298. Published 22 Aug 2022 | doi:10.11604/pamj.2022.42.298.36378

Gastroschisis is a relatively rare birth defect in which the baby's intestines (stomach, large or small intestines) extends outside of the abdominal wall or exit their body from a 2 to 5 cm hole, most often on the right side beside their belly button during fetal development. It occurs in about 1 in every 2,000 babies. We report a case of a large gastroschisis containing intestinal loop. A 29-year-old, primigravida, was referred to the centre for childbirth. Antenatally, at 24th weeks the fetus was diagnosed with a congenital malformation of the anterior abdominal wall. The ultrasound at 30 weeks, confirmed the diagnosis. At 37 plus weeks, she was taken for emergency caesarean section. A male child was born with the confirmation of presence of gastroschisis. Birth weight 3.2 Kg, height 54 cm with appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration (APGAR) score 8/9. At birth gastroschisis contained intestinal loop. Newborn was referred to neonatal intensive for further management.
Corresponding author
Ashna Gledina, Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Smt. Radhikabai Meghe Memorial College of Nursing, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Sawangi, Wardha, Maharashtra, India (ashna.james4@gmail.com)


The Pan African Medical Journal (ISSN: 1937-8688) is a subsidiary of the Pan African Medical Journal. The contents of this journal is intended exclusively for professionals in the medical, paramedical and public health and other health sectors.

Currently tracked by: DOAJ, AIM, Google Scholar, AJOL, EBSCO, Scopus, Embase, IC, HINARI, Global Health, PubMed Central, PubMed/Medline, ESCI

Physical address: "Kenya: 3rd Floor, Park Suite Building, Parkland Road, Nairobi. PoBox 38583-00100, tel: +254 (0)20-520-4356 | Cameroon: Immeuble TechnoPark Essos, Yaounde, PoBox: 10020 Yaounde, tel: +237 (0)24-309-5880"