Emesis in the Neonate: Recommendations for Initial Management

The symptom of emesis in the neonate is common and caused by a myriad of clinical states, some pathologic and some benign. There are many clinical data points that steer the astute clinician toward certain diagnoses and away from others. The focus of this article is to provide a framework for evaluating a neonate that presents to an emergency department with emesis. After reading this article, the emergency department clinician will have a better understanding of the clinical presentation and evaluation of surgical and nonsurgical etiologies of emesis in the neonate.