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Published on: December 1, 2012

Paediatric intussusception: epidemiology and outcome

Andrew Jm Blanch1, Susan B Perel, Jason P Acworth

  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. andrew_blanch@health.qld.gov.au

Emergency Medicine Australasia : EMA
|February 20, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Early diagnosis of intussusception in children is crucial, as classic symptoms are often absent. Delayed diagnosis of this bowel obstruction is linked to worse outcomes, highlighting the need for prompt recognition.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Gastroenterology
  • Surgical Pediatrics

Background:

  • Intussusception is a common surgical emergency in infants and children.
  • Classic clinical features are not always present, potentially delaying diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the clinical presentation and outcomes of pediatric intussusception.
  • To identify factors associated with earlier diagnosis and determine the impact of diagnostic delay on prognosis.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 141 pediatric patients diagnosed with intussusception over a 10-year period.
  • Analysis of clinical presentation, diagnostic methods (including ultrasound), and treatment outcomes.

Main Results:

  • The incidence was 1 per 1450 ED presentations, with a median age of 9 months.
  • Only 46% of cases presented with three or more classic symptoms (vomiting, pain, bloody stool, abdominal mass).
  • Median time to diagnosis was 19 hours; early diagnosis correlated with less surgery and bowel resection.

Conclusions:

  • The classic presentation of intussusception is infrequent, and reliance on these signs can delay diagnosis.
  • Delayed diagnosis is associated with poorer patient outcomes.
  • Air enema is an effective reduction technique with an 80% success rate.
Abstract

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