Symptoms & Signs
- Bluish coloration to the skin (cyanosis) with attempted feedings
- Coughing, gagging, and choking with attempted feeding
- Drooling
- Poor feeding
Diagnosis & Tests
Before birth, an ultrasound performed on the pregnant mother may show too much amniotic fluid, which can be a sign of esophageal atresia or other blockage of the digestive tract.
The disorder is usually detected shortly after birth when feeding is attempted and the infant coughs, chokes, and turns blue. As soon as the diagnosis is suspected, an attempt to pass a small feeding tube through the mouth or nose into the stomach should be made. The feeding tube will not be able to pass all the way to the stomach in a baby with esophageal atresia.
An x-ray of the esophagus shows an air-filled pouch and air in the stomach and intestine. If a feeding tube has been inserted, it will appear coiled up in the upper esophagus.
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Esophageal atresia : Overview, Causes, & Risk Factors
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Esophageal atresia : Symptoms & Signs, Diagnosis & Tests
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Esophageal atresia : Treatment
Review Date : 9/14/2009
Reviewed By : David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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