Umbilical discharge is not an unusual presentation in infant and children. It is a symptom of varied pathology. This prospective interventional study was conducted in the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Sylhet during the period of 2 years from January 2013 to December 2014 to find out the causes and the management of umbilical discharge in children. A total of 46 patients aged up to 12 years admitted or attended in outpatient department with umbilical discharge were selected. Patients were diagnosed by history, examination and investigations. The age of the patients ranged from 4 days to 11 years with a mean age of 1.46 (SD ± 2.48) years. Majority (69.6%) of the patients were below the age of 12 months. Male female ratio was 1.9:1. Out of 46 patients, 4(8.7%) had other associated congenital anomalies. Early separation of umbilical cord (within 7 days) was significantly associated with umbilical discharge (p=0.008) and umbilical adenoma (41.3%) was the commonest cause of umbilical discharge. Majority (56.5%) of patients were treated surgically and 43.5% patients received medical treatment. The outcome was excellent in 42 (91.3%) patients; while 3 (6.5%) patients developed some form of complications and one patient died due to septicaemia. So, it may be concluded from the study that umbilical adenoma is more common than umbilical granuloma in children although literature review reveals granuloma is the commonest.

Keywords: Umbilical discharge, Granuloma, Adenoma.