Functional intestinal obstruction in the neonate.

Fifty-one neonates with functional intestinal obstruction are described. The commonest causes of functional obstruction were sticky meconium, sepsis, respiratory distress, and the prolonged infusion of fluid through a PVC catheter in the umbilical vein. Functional obstruction was diagnosed on routine investigation in 34 patients and in the remainder Hirschsprung's disease was the most commonly suspected cause of organic obstruction.