Nonischemic intussusception in childhood

The classical presentation of intussusception consisting of severe abdominal pain, bloody stool, and a palpable abdominal mass leads to the correct diagnosis in majority of the patients. However, an atypical presentation often results in a delayed diagnosis as is commonly seen in nonischemic intussusception. The nonischemic intussusception is a distinct clinical entity that is characterized by a long history of less severe symptoms commonly noticed in older children. The incidence of diarrhea in this group is higher than in the acute variety of intussusception. This variant of intussusception requires a high degree of suspicion for the diagnosis in atypical clinical presentation. The present study summarises our experience treating 31 such cases of nonischemic intussusception during a period of 25 years from 1966 to July 1990.