Calculating rectal nerve sheath diameter of anorectal malformations using S100 protein

BACKGROUND: Anorectal malformations are common congenital anomalies encountered in pediatric surgery. The S100 protein is a nerve sheath marker that is used to identify nerve hypertrophy in intestinal obstruction cases, including those of anorectal malformations. This study used the s100 protein to determine the diameter of the rectal nerve sheath in anorectal malformation patients at the academic hospital of Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo, Makassar, Indonesia.METHODS: This study was cross-sectional and involved 17 patients with anorectal malformations who were evaluated using the S100 protein to measure the diameter of distal rectal nerve fibers in relation to continence function predictors. An independent sample t-test was used to analyze the data with a significance value of P<0.05.RESULTS: The minimum distal rectal nerve sheath diameter averaged 297.29±225.37 μm in the anorectal malformation group with fistulas and 174.99±61.51 μm in the group without fistulas. No statistical difference was found in the minimum rectal nerve diameter between the two groups (P=0.475). Similarly, the maximum rectal nerve sheath diameters averaged 492.55±526.29 μm and 295.12±110.41 μm for the groups with and without fistulas, respectively, and no difference was observed in the maximum rectal nerve sheath diameter between the groups (P=0.601).CONCLUSIONS: No differences were detected in the minimum or maximum rectal nerve sheath diameters between the anorectal malformation group with fistulas and that without fistulas.