Air reduction of intussusception

Practical Imaging Strategies for Intussusception in Children

OBJECTIVE. Intussusception is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in young children. Radiology has a key role in its diagnosis and treatment. This systematic review summarizes the currently available evidence for best practices in radiologic management of pediatric intussusception. CONCLUSION. High diagnostic accuracy and lack of ionizing radiation make ultrasound (US) the preferred imaging modality for diagnosing intussusception. For intussusception reduction, fluoroscopy-guided pneumatic enema and US-guided hydrostatic enema are equally dependable and safe techniques. The areas that warrant further research in this field include the efficacy and safety of the US-guided pneumatic enema, potential benefits of sedation and general anesthesia for the reduction procedure, and the optimal management of intussusceptions potentially involving pathologic lead points.

A Practice Guideline for Postreduction Management of Intussusception of Children in the Emergency Department

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a practice guideline of postreduction management of intussusception in children on the length of stay (LOS) from reduction in the pediatric emergency department (PED) and on the incidence of recurrence.

METHODS

We developed a practice guideline of postreduction management of intussusception in the PED. The practice guideline involved feeding 2 hours after reduction and discharge 2 hours after successful feeding. The guideline was implemented on October 1, 2012. Retrospective quasi-experimental study was conducted for evaluation of the difference in LOS in the PED after reduction of intussusceptions, and the recurrence rate of intussusceptions between the preimplementation and postimplementation periods. Piecewise regression was performed to determine the differences between groups.

RESULTS

In total, 45 and 52 patients were included in the preimplementation and postimplementation periods, respectively. The median LOS in the postimplementation period was significantly shorter than that in the preimplementation period (289 vs 532 minutes, respectively; P = 0.001). The slope of the LOS changed from 0.68 to -0.29. The slope decreased by 0.97 after practice guideline implementation. This difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.123), but it changed from a positive to negative gradient. The recurrence rate was not significantly different between the 2 periods (P = 0.605).

CONCLUSIONS

Implementation of a practice guideline involving early feeding and discharge after reduction of intussusception resulted in a reduced LOS from reduction of intussusception in the PED and was not associated with recurrence of intussusception.

Ultrasound-guided hydrostatic reduction of intussusception with saline: Safe and effective

PURPOSE

The study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of ultrasound-guided saline enema in reducing intussusception and to determine the role of age and duration of symptoms on this event.

METHODS

The case records of patients who were treated for intussusception at our institutions over the past 10 years were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 419 patients were treated for intussusception and 375 of them were included into the study. Patients were excluded if they had symptoms and signs of acute abdominal disease and required surgery as an initial treatment.

RESULTS

Hydrostatic reduction was successful in 313 of the 375 patients (83.46%). The procedure-related complication rate was nil. There were 29 episodes of recurrences in 23 patients, and recurrence rates did not differ between patients who responded to hydrostatic reduction and those who required surgery. Younger age [median (range); 11 months (3-108 months) vs. 20 months (1-180 months); p<0.05], rectal bleeding (p<0.01) and long duration of symptoms [mean (range); 1.95 days (1-7 days) vs. 1.44 days (1-10 days); p<0.01] were significantly associated with failed hydrostatic reduction.

CONCLUSION

Ultrasound-guided hydrostatic reduction is an easy, safe and effective method for the treatment of intussusception in the absence of acute abdominal findings.

Recurrence rates after intussusception enema reduction: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Reported rates of recurrence after enema reduction for intussusception are variable. Concerns for recurrence influence postreduction management. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate overall, 24-hour, and 48-hour recurrence rates after enema reduction in children.

METHODS

PubMed, Cochrane Database, and OVID Medline were searched from 1946 through December 2011 using the search terms: intussusception, recurrence, and enema. Sixty-nine studies of patients age 0 to 18 years with radiographically proven intussusception reduced by enema that report the number of enema reductions and the number of recurrences were included. Extraction was done by the primary author (M.P.G.) with 10% of included studies independently audited to ensure concordance.

RESULTS

Overall recurrence rates were 12.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.1%-14.4%, I2 = 28.8%) for contrast enema (CE), 7.5% (95% CI: 5.7%-9.8%, I2 = 52.4%) for ultrasound-guided noncontrast enema (UGNCE), and 8.5% (95% CI: 6.9%-10.4%, I2 = 50.1%) for fluoroscopy-guided air enema (FGAE). Recurrence rates within 24 hours were 3.9% (95% CI: 2.2%-6.7%, I2 = 47.0%) for CE, 3.9% (95% CI: 1.5%-10.1%, I2 = 0.0%) for UGNCE, and 2.2% (95% CI: 0.7%-6.5%, I2 = 59.8%) for FGAE. Recurrence rates within 48 hours were 5.4% (95% CI 3.7%-7.8%, I2 = 32.3%) for CE, 6.6% (95% CI: 4.0%-10.7%, I2 = 0.0%) for UGNCE, and 2.7% (95% CI: 1.2%-6.5%, I2 = 73.8%) for FGAE. Most included studies are retrospective and vary in quality of reporting. Few studies reported detailed patient characteristics including timing of recurrences.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of early (within 48 hours) recurrence after enema reduction is low, suggesting outpatient management of well-appearing patients should be considered.

Childhood intussusception: a literature review

Background

Postlicensure data has identified a causal link between rotavirus vaccines and intussusception in some settings. As rotavirus vaccines are introduced globally, monitoring intussusception will be crucial for ensuring safety of the vaccine programs.

Methods

To obtain updated information on background rates and clinical management of intussusception, we reviewed studies of intussusception in children <18 years of age published since 2002. We assessed the incidence of intussusception by month of life among children <1 year of age, seasonality, method of diagnosis, treatment, and case-fatality.

Findings

We identified 82 studies from North America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, and Central & South America that reported a total of 44,454 intussusception events. The mean incidence of intussusception was 74 per 100,000 (range: 9–328) among children <1 year of age, with peak incidence among infants 5–7 months of age. No seasonal patterns were observed. A radiographic modality was used to diagnose intussusception in over 95% of the cases in all regions except Africa where clinical findings or surgery were used in 65% of the cases. Surgical rates were substantially higher in Africa (77%) and Central and South America (86%) compared to other regions (13–29%). Case-fatality also was higher in Africa (9%) compared to other regions (<1%). The primary limitation of this review relates to the heterogeneity in intussusception surveillance across different regions.

Conclusion

This review of the intussusception literature from the past decade provides pertinent information that should facilitate implementation of intussusception surveillance for monitoring the postlicensure safety of rotavirus vaccines.

Japanese guidelines for the management of intussusception in children, 2011

BACKGROUND

The Japanese Society of Emergency Pediatrics has formulated evidence-based guidelines for the management of intussusception in children in order to diagnose intussusceptions promptly, to initiate appropriate treatment as early as possible, and to protect intussuscepted children from death.

METHODS

Literature was collected systematically via the Internet using the key words "intussusception" and "children." The evidence level of each paper was rated in accordance with the levels of evidence of the Oxford Center for Evidence-based Medicine. The guidelines consisted of 50 clinical questions and the answers. Grades of recommendation were added to the procedures recommended on the basis of the strength of evidence levels.

RESULTS

Three criteria of "diagnostic criteria,""severity assessment criteria," and "criteria for patient transfer" were proposed aiming at an early diagnosis, selection of appropriate treatment, and patient transfer for referral to a tertiary hospital in severe cases. Barium is no longer recommended for enema reduction (recommendation D) because the patient becomes severely ill once perforation occurs. Use of other contrast media, such as water-soluble iodinated contrast, normal saline, or air, is recommended under either fluoroscopic or sonographic guidance. Delayed repeat enema improves reduction success rate, and is recommended if the initial enema partially reduced the intussusception and if the patient condition is stable.

CONCLUSIONS

The guidelines offer standards of management, but it is not necessarily the purpose of the guidelines to regulate clinical practices. One should judge each individual clinical situation in accordance with experiences, available devices, and the patient's condition.

Abdominal pain in children

Abdominal pain is one of the most common reasons pediatric patients seek emergency care. The emergency physician must be able to distinguish diagnoses requiring immediate attention from self-limiting processes. Pediatric patients can be challenging, particularly those who are preverbal, and therefore, the clinician must rely on a detailed history from a parent or caregiver as well as a careful physical examination in order to narrow the differential diagnosis. This article highlights several pediatric diagnoses presenting as abdominal pain, including surgical emergencies, nonsurgical diagnoses, and extraabdominal processes, and reviews the clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, and management of each.

Does the length of the history influence the outcome of pneumatic reduction of intussusception in children?

PURPOSE

Intussusception is the most common cause of acute abdomen in infants and preschool children. Nonoperative reduction using air enema is an established treatment in children with intussusception. The aim of this study was to determine whether length of the history influences the outcome of pneumatic reduction of intussusception in children?

METHODS

The medical records of 256 consecutive children with intussusception between July 1998 and June 2010, who underwent air enema reduction regardless of the length of the history were reviewed. In all 256 patients, intussusception was confirmed by ultrasound before proceeding to air enema.

RESULTS

The length of history ranged from 2 to 240 h with median time of 18.5 h. The median age in 256 patients was 7 months (range 1 day to 12 years). The presenting clinical features included irritability/abdominal pain (77%), vomiting (80%), bleeding per rectum (36%) and palpable abdominal mass (50%). Air enema reduction was successful in 234 (91.5%) of the 256 patients. In 22 (8.5%) patients, air enema failed to reduce the intussusception and 3 (1.1%) of these patients had colonic perforation during the procedure. All 22 patients required surgery. The duration of symptoms did not influence the outcome of pneumatic reduction. 37 (14%) patients developed recurrence after successful pneumatic reduction of intussusception, with 58% presenting within 48 h of the initial procedure.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that pneumatic reduction should be first-line treatment in all children with intussusception regardless of the length of the history.

Intussusception: incidence and treatment-insights from the nationwide German surveillance

OBJECTIVE

Intussusception (IS) is one of the most common paediatric emergencies, and the best mode of conservative reduction and its exact incidence remains unclear. For different reasons, availability of reliable incidence data are useful and additionally may be fundamental to monitor potential effects of recently introduced rotavirus (RV) vaccines.

METHODS

We performed a prospective German nationwide surveillance between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007, followed by separate collection of all IS cases in a random sample of 31 clinics for an unbiased estimation of underreporting. For case definition, the Brighton Collaboration (BC) criteria were applied.

RESULTS

A total of 1200 children with at least 1 episode of IS were included. For children younger than 1 year the incidence was calculated to be 60.4/100,000 child-years. The risk for surgery increased 2-fold if the interval between onset of symptoms and first attempt of conservative reduction exceeded 5 hours (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-3.1). We also observed a 2.8-fold increased risk for surgery for hydrostatic (CI 1.2-6.4) and a 3.7-fold for barium enema reduction (CI 1.6-8.8) compared to pneumatic reduction. The level of specialisation of the hospital did not influence the success of conservative management.

CONCLUSIONS

For children with IS a fast attempt of pneumatic reduction seems to be the optimal management. Considering the current practice we estimated that approximately 104 (CI 46-161) surgical interventions would be preventable in Germany every year. Also, conduction of reliable postmarketing monitoring of the new RV vaccines is now possible based on the provided incidence data.

Intussusception in children--clinical presentation, diagnosis and management

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of patients with intussusception, with special regard to the duration of symptoms, referral from other hospitals, outcome and complications related to delayed diagnosis.

METHODS

This retrospective study was performed using hospital charts, ultrasound and radiological reports and surgical notes from patients treated in our institution from 1996-2005.

RESULTS

Altogether 98 patients were included in the study. The study revealed idiopathic intussusception in 95% of the cases. The remaining patients presented with Meckel's diverticulum and schwannoma of the small bowel. We used ultrasound as the primary modality for diagnosis in all the patients, with a diagnostic accuracy of 100% in our study. Conservative treatment using an air enema was successful in 79.5% of cases. A higher rate of surgical intervention was found in patients who had symptoms for more than 24 h and in referred patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Particular attention needs to be paid to the rapid diagnosis and appropriate treatment of intussusception. Uncertain cases should be urgently referred to specialised paediatric centres. Ultrasound should be the diagnostic method of choice, since it is very effective in making this diagnosis. The first treatment option for intussusception remains the enema. Delayed diagnosis leads to an increased number of open surgeries.

Intussusception

Intussusception is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in children between 3 months and 6 years. Intussusception occurs when a more proximal portion of bowel invaginates into more distal bowel. These patients often present with a wide range of non-specific symptoms, with less than one quarter presenting with the classic triad of vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloody stools. Thus, the diagnosis continues to rely on clinical suspicion. This review article discusses the clinical presentation of intussusception and the state-of-the art diagnostic and treatment options, as well as a review of the pertinent literature.

Air enema for intussusception: is predicting the outcome important?

Air enema is the treatment of choice for childhood intussusceptions. Although peritonitis is the established contraindication, studies have attempted to identify factors that affect the outcome of air enema. In our series we studied the impact of such factors on the clinical scenario to determine if it was important to predict the outcome of air enema. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 179 children who underwent air enema for intussusception at our institution over a 5-year period. Abdominal colic was present in 144 children, vomiting in 139 and rectal bleeding in 108 children. The duration of symptoms was less than 24 h in 131 children. An abdominal mass was present in 121 children, rectal prolapse of intussusception in 14, dehydration in 31 and small bowel obstruction in 27 children. The success rate of air enema was calculated. All clinical features were analyzed for impact on outcome using univariate and multivariate analysis. The extent of this impact on the clinical scenario was examined. Air enema was successful in 157 cases (89%). One child developed a perforation during the procedure (0.6%). The recurrence rate was 8%. Using chi2 test, success of air enema was reduced in the presence of rectal bleeding, rectal prolapse of intussusception, dehydration, and small bowel obstruction. This reduction was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Using logistic regression analysis, the success of air enema was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) only in the presence of prolapsing rectal intussusception (57%) and small bowel obstruction (52%). Small bowel obstruction and prolapsing rectal intussusceptions merely reduce the success of air enema and do not increase the complications. Since the success of air enema is very high, it must be attempted in all children with the exception of peritonitis. Predicting the outcome is not crucial because of the high success rate and low complication rate.

Intussusception among young children in Europe

Intussusception, a potentially lethal condition with poorly understood etiology, is the most common cause of acute intestinal obstruction in children younger than 5 years old. In some cases, the condition has been associated with administration of the first licensed rotavirus vaccine, the reassortant rhesus-human tetravalent rotavirus vaccine (RRV-TV; RotaShield). No such association has to date been reported from large phase III safety trials with new rotavirus vaccines. As 2 new, live-attenuated oral rotavirus vaccines are currently under review for approval by the European Union regulatory authorities, a review of the clinical, etiologic and epidemiologic aspects of intussusception in Europe is urgently needed. We conducted a review of Medline literature, published from 1995 onwards on intussusception in the World Health Organization's European Region. The results are compared with data from previous reviews and other regions. The classic triad of intussusception symptoms (abdominal pain, abdominal mass, bloody stools) was present in 29-33% of patients according to the medical literature reviewed. Conservative treatment (barium, air or saline enema) was the rule (81% of cases), and few complications were observed during treatment. Treatment outcome was generally favorable, with recurrence occurring in approximately 1 in 10 patients, and only 1 death reported. Structural lead points were seen in 3% of patients; no other reliable data on the etiology of intussusception were found. The incidence of acute intussusception in young children in Europe, according to 6 heterogeneous hospital-based studies, ranged from 0.66 to 2.24 per 1000 children in inpatient departments and from 0.75 to 1.00 per 1000 children in emergency departments. Peak incidences were found in children 3-9 months of age. There are still gaps in our knowledge of intussusception with respect to its etiology and especially by which mechanisms RRV-TV might have caused it to occur. Data from regions outside Europe showed that rotavirus infection and disease are not associated with intussusception. As new rotavirus vaccines become available for use in Europe, postlicensure surveillance for intussusception is indicated and may be instrumental in further understanding the epidemiology of this condition and in further assessing the safety of future vaccines.

Ominous findings in toddlers with increasing abdominal girth: two unusual cases and a review of the clinical evaluation

A preverbal toddler who presents with a distended abdomen can pose a difficult clinical problem. The differential diagnosis is extremely broad and consists of etiologies ranging from the benign to the life threatening. In this case report, we present 2 unusual life-threatening cases of abdominal distention in well-appearing toddlers and a review of the clinical evaluation for the emergency practitioner.

Ultrasound evaluation of acute abdominal emergencies in infants and children

Ultrasound is extremely beneficial in the evaluation of acute pediatric abdominal disease, such as HPS, intussusception, and acute appendicitis. As techniques and equipment improve, its role in the evaluation of infants and children continues to increase.