A new enema for treatment of intussusception with hydrostatic reduction: Olive oil

Intussusception is routinely treated using ultrasound-guided hydrostatic reduction (USGHR) with normal saline in our paediatric surgery department. With this study, olive oil was added to normal saline in ultrasound-guided reduction of intussusception.

Forty patients who were diagnosed and treated for intussusception in Van Yuzuncu Yıl University Faculty of Medicine Pediatric Surgery Department from March 2017 to May 2017 were included in the study. During this retrospective study, randomly chosen 20 patients that treated with USGHR using normal saline were marked as Group 1. Moreover, 20 patients that treated with USGHR using a mixture of olive oil and saline (10% olive oil 90% normal saline) were marked as Group 2. Patients' age, gender, symptoms, treatment techniques, complications and hospitalisation periods were retrospectively noted.

Forty patients were included in the study. In Group 1, 14 patients were treated in the first session, 4 patients were treated in the second session and 2 patients required laparotomy. Mean reduction time in this group was 15 min mean fluid volume used in each reduction was 80 ml/kg and mean hospitalisation period was 38 h. In Group 2, 19 patients were treated in the first session, and only 1 patient required a second session. Mean reduction time was 12 min, used fluid volume was 58 ml/kg for each reduction and hospitalisation period was 24 h.

The average volume of fluid used for reduction, average reduction time, numbers of recurrent reductions and hospitalisation were less when a mixture of olive oil and normal saline were used in comparison with when normal saline was used alone to reduction the intussusception under ultrasound guidance. Using olive oil mixed with normal saline as a new enema fluid is likely to increase the success rate of ultrasound-guided reduction of intussusception.