Guidelines for synoptic reporting of surgery and pathology in Hirschsprung disease

• Authors: Laura V. Veras, University of Tennessee; Michael Arnold, Ohio State University; Jeffrey R. Avansino, University of Washington; Kevin Bove, University of Cincinnati; Robert A. Cowles, Yale University; Megan Durham, Emory University; Allan M. Goldstein, Harvard Medical School; Chandra Krishnan, Dell Children's Medical Center; Jacob C. Langer, University of Toronto; Marc Levitt, Nationwide Children's Hospital; Hector Monforte-Munoz, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital; Raja Rabah, University of Michigan; Miguel Reyes-Mugica, University of Pittsburgh; Michael D. Rollins, II, University of Utah; Raj P. Kapur, University of Washington; Ankush Gosain, University of Tennessee
• Journal Title: JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC SURGERY
• Volume: Volume 54, Number 10
• Publisher: W B SAUNDERS CO-ELSEVIER INC | 2019-10-01, Pages 2017-2023
• Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2019.03.010
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Health Sciences, Oncology
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Pediatrics; Surgery; Hirschsprung disease; Aganglionosis; Synoptic; Pathology; Enteric nervous system; TRANSITION ZONE; CANCER; BIOPSY; COLON

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Synoptic, or standardized, reporting of surgery and pathology reports has been widely adopted in surgical oncology. Patients with Hirschsprung disease may experience morbidity related to surgical factors or underlying pathology and often undergo multiple operations. Our aim is to improve the postoperative outcome and care of patients with Hirschsprung disease by proposing a standardized set of data that should be included in every surgery and pathology report. Methods: Members of the American Pediatric Surgical Association Hirschsprung Disease Interest Group and experts in pediatric pathology of Hirschsprung disease participated in group discussions, performed literature review and arrived at expert consensus guidelines for surgery and pathology reporting. Results: The importance of accurate operative and pathologic reports and the implications of inadequate documentation in patients with Hirschsprung disease are discussed and guidelines for standardizing these reports are provided. Conclusions: Adherence to the principles of reporting for operations and surgical pathology may improve outcomes for Hirschsprung disease patients and will facilitate identification of correlations among morphology, function, genetics and outcomes, which are required to improve the overall management of these patients. Level of Evidence: V.