Can early surgery improve the outcome of patients with meconium peritonitis? A single-center experience over 16 years.

Retrospective 16-year study of 79 meconium peritonitis patients demonstrates that early surgical intervention in the neonatal period significantly improves survival rates (95% vs 79.5%). Prematurity identified as key risk factor for mortality, while prenatal diagnosis enabling prompt postnatal surgery correlates with better outcomes.