Chronic intussusception in children: report of one case

Chronic intussusception is defined as intussusception lasting for 14 days or more. Because the clinical manifestation is different from that of acute intussusception, the diagnosis is usually delayed or missed. Ultrasonography is of diagnostic value. We present a 8-year-old boy who had the complaints of marked body weight loss and intermittent abdominal pain for one month. Hydrostatic reduction failed in this case. Laparotomy revealed an ileo-colic intussusception, the leading point of which was a colonic polyp. We would like to emphasize that chronic intussusception frequently appears a nonacute abdominal condition, usually intermittent abdominal pain, and sometimes marked body weight loss and an abdominal mass. Surgical intervention is usually needed in older children because a high incidence of underlying lesions in them.