Currarino syndrome or Hirschsprung disease: how to prevent diagnostic dilemma in chronic constipation

Background Currarino syndrome is a rare congenital malformation having autosomal dominant inheritance. It comprises of anorectal malformation, presacral mass, and sacral vertebral defect occurring in variable proportion. The most common presentation is chronic constipation which is usually due to compression of rectum by anterior sacral mass. If clinical examination is not properly done and digital rectal examination is excluded from the examination, it can be misdiagnosed as other common cause of constipation like Hirschsprung disease. Case presentation We are reporting one such case of one-and-half-year-old female child with chronic constipation which was initially managed as Hirschsprung disease, but later on, after a repeat clinical examination with digital rectal examination, it was evaluated on the line of Currarino syndrome. The diagnosis was confirmed by contrast-enhanced computed tomography of abdomen with 3 dimensional reconstruction. It was then managed by posterior sagittal approach with excision of mass and anorectoplasty. Conclusion A proper protocol for clinical evaluation of patient with constipation prevents diagnostic dilemma between surgical causes of constipation in pediatric age group. Digital rectal examination must be included in the protocol for evaluation of chronic constipation. In pediatric age group, clinical workup should be done with keeping in mind the rare diagnosis of Currarino syndrome along with common cause of constipation like Hirschsprung disease.

Currarino Syndrome: lower urinary tract function, treatment plan and outcomes

Currarino syndrome (CS) is a rare congenital disorder characterized by anorectal malformation, sacral agenesis and presacral mass. We performed video-urodynamics (VUDS) assessment of patients with CS to characterize the lower urinary tract function, individualize management plans and to follow outcomes. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 11 patients diagnosed with CS at the spina bifida multidisciplinary clinic. Lower urinary tract function was assessed by VUDS from three months to 12 months after neurosurgery. All patients had sacral agenesis; nine patients had anorectal malformation (9/11, 81.8%) and five patients had a presacral mass (5/11, 45.5%). The average age at neurosurgery was 7.9 months (range, 2–19). One patient had bilateral vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) with increasing detrusor pressure at the end of filling. In two patients, the detrusor activity showed weakening during urination, while no other lower urinary tract abnormality was identified on urodynamic evaluation. Six patients underwent VUDS before and after surgery; of these, two patients showed improved bladder function after surgery, while the remaining four patients showed no change in urodynamics. The average duration of follow-up was 27.5 months (range, 9–51). Renal function was normal in all patients. We can conclude that patients with CS often exhibit associated neurological abnormalities. VUDS assessment may help detect lower urinary tract dysfunction at an early stage and facilitate timely urological intervention to avoid kidney damage.

Currarino syndrome: a comprehensive genetic review of a rare congenital disorder

Background The triad of a presacral mass, sacral agenesis and an anorectal anomaly constitutes the rare Currarino syndrome (CS), which is caused by dorsal–ventral patterning defects during embryonic development. The major causative CS gene is MNX1, encoding a homeobox protein. Main body In the majority of patients, CS occurs as an autosomal dominant trait; however, a female predominance observed, implies that CS may underlie an additional mode(s) of inheritance. Often, the diagnosis of CS is established solely by clinical findings, impacting a detailed analysis of the disease. Our combined data, evaluating more than 60 studies reporting patients with CS-associated mutations, revealed a slightly higher incidence rate in females with a female-to-male ratio of 1.39:1. Overall, MNX1 mutation analysis was successful in only 57.4% of all CS patients investigated, with no mutation detected in 7.7% of the familial and 68% of the sporadic patients. Our studies failed to detect the presence of an expressed MNX1 isoform that might explain at least some of these mutation-negative cases. Conclusion Aside from MNX1, other genes or regulatory regions may contribute to CS and we discuss several cytogenetic studies and whole-exome sequencing data that have implicated further loci/genes in its etiology.

Currarino Syndrome (SC): A case at the University Hospital of Mother and Child Lagune Cotonou

Introduction: The Currarino syndrome (CS) is one of the rare syndromic forms of anorectal malformations (ARM). Observation: This is the clinical case of a 3 days male newborn admitted for high ARM in the pediatric surgery Department of the Lagune Mother and Child University Hospital of Cotonou. An emergency colostomy was performed. At the age of 7 months as a prelude to anorectoplasty, the distal colography revealed a semilunar pelvic opacity in front of the sacrum. The posterior sagittal approach according to Peña could not reveal the distal end of the intestine. The reconstruction of the sphincter-muscular complex was done on a tracheal tube. The abdominal approach allowed the discovery and resection of a presacral mass. The rectal pouch end found was then lowered. Post-operative follows up was uneventful. The standard postoperative X-ray revealed a partial agenesis of the sacrum. The histology of the operative specimen found a cystic lipoma. The diagnosis of CS was done. The search of a HLXB9 mutation was not possible. Conclusion: The clinical observation associated with standard radiological investigations highlighted the triad: anorectal malformation, presacral tumor, and partial agenesis of the sacrum, which upheld the diagnosis of CS; but the search for an indispensable HLXB9 mutation was lacking for the genetic link.