Observation on erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in infants and children with Hirschsprung's disease.

In 31 cases of Hirschsprung's disease, the mean value of erythrocyte AChE activity was discovered to be 91.24 +/- 10.24 u/mL, being significantly higher than that from 127 normal children of 73.51 +/- 9.36 u/mL (P less than 0.001); whereas serum ChE mean value of 14.49 +/- 4.04 u/mL showed no difference from normal control (16.89 +/- 8.86 u/mL, P greater than 0.05). In addition, the erythrocyte AChE activity of six newborns with Hirschsprung's disease was also found to be much higher than its own normal control. It was therefore, concluded that this assay may be of supplementary diagnostic significance in diagnosing neonatal Hirschsprung's disease.