Fever as a Presenting Symptom in Children Evaluated for Ileocolic Intussusception: The Experience of a Large Tertiary Care Pediatric Hospital

Clinical characteristics of pediatric intussusception and predictors of bowel resection in affected patients

Background

Surgery is required for the treatment of intussusception when enema reduction is unsuccessful, or when the patient develops peritonitis, bowel perforation, or intestinal damage. We aimed to evaluate the clinical and laboratory parameters that may be used to predict the need for bowel resection in children with intussusception.

Methods

This observational retrospective study included children who were admitted to the pediatric emergency department with intussusception. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate factors associated with bowel resection.

Results

In total, 584 children with intussusception were admitted to the pediatric emergency department; 129 of these children underwent surgery. Multivariate analysis revealed the following independent predictors of bowel resection for intussusception: symptoms for at least 2 days before surgery (OR = 6.863; p = 0.009), long intussusception (OR = 5.088; p = 0.014), pathological lead point (OR = 6.926; p = 0.003), and intensive care unit admission (OR = 11.777; p = 0.001) were factors independently associated with bowel resection.

Conclusion

Symptoms for at least 2 days before surgery, long intussusception, pathological lead, and intensive care unit admission were predictors of bowel resection in children with intussusception. These findings can be used to identify patients at high risk of needing surgery and bowel resection.

Evidence-Based Diagnostic Test Accuracy of History, Physical Examination, and Imaging for Intussusception: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Intussusception is the most common cause of pediatric small bowel obstruction. Timely and accurate diagnosis may reduce the risk of bowel ischemia. We quantified the diagnostic test accuracy of history, physical examination, abdominal radiographs, and point-of-care ultrasound.

METHOD

We conducted a systematic review for diagnostic test accuracy of history, physical examination, and imaging concerning for intussusception. Our literature search was completed in June 2019. Databases included Medline via Ovid, Embase, Scopus, and Wiley Cochrane Library. We conducted a second review of the literature up to June 2019 for any additional studies. Inclusion criteria were younger than 18 years and presenting to the emergency department for abdominal complaints, consistent with intussusception. We performed data analysis using mada, version 0.5.8. We conducted univariate and bivariate analysis (random effects model) with DerSimonian-Laird and Reitsma model, respectively. QUADAS-2 was used for bias assessment.

RESULTS

The literature search identified 2639 articles, of which 13 primary studies met our inclusion criteria. Abdominal pain, vomiting, and bloody stools had positive likelihood ratios LR(+) between 1 and 2, whereas the negative likelihood ratio, LR(-), ranged between 0.4 and 0.8. Abnormal abdominal radiograph had LR(+) of 2.5 and LR(-) of 0.20, whereas its diagnostic odds ratio was 13. Lastly, point-of-care ultrasound had LR(+) of 19.7 and LR(-) of 0.10. The diagnostic odds ratio was 213.

CONCLUSIONS

History and physical examination had low diagnostic test accuracy. Abdominal radiographs had low diagnostic test accuracy, despite moderate discriminatory characteristics. Point-of-care ultrasound had the highest diagnostic test accuracy to rule in or rule out intussusception.

Emergency high ligation in a suspected COVID-19 pediatric patient with incarcerated inguinal hernia: A case report

BACKGROUND

SARS-Cov-2 infects not only adults, but also children, including pediatric surgery patients with acute abdomen. Here, we report a pediatric surgery case with incarcerated inguinal hernia and suspected COVID-19.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 11-month-old male was brought to our emergency department with the main complaint of recurrent yellowish-green vomiting that was experienced from one day before admission. High fever and shortness of breath were also reported. This patient was also suffering from moderate dehydration. Neither history of contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 nor traveling from any local transmission area were found. However, a SARS-CoV-2 rapid antibody test revealed a positive result. A lump in the left scrotum that persisted during admission was found. Fluid resuscitation and nasogastric tube placement for decompression was performed. Manual reduction was attempted but failed to reduce the lump. Accordingly, we decided to perform an emergency high ligation using tertiary protection regulations, i.e., full personal protective equipment (PPE) for COVID-19. Intraoperatively, we found a small intestine loop trapped in the scrotum and stuck in the inguinal canal. Postoperatively, the baby was continued to be managed as a patient with COVID-19 while waiting for the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results.

DISCUSSION

Manual reduction is standard treatment for incarcerated inguinal hernia in children. The successful rate of manual reduction is about 70%, therefore, if the manual reduction fails, an emergency surgery is mandatory.During the COVID-19 pandemic, all medical procedures require clarity of the patient's status including whether infected with COVID-19. Along with proper precautions, great care must be taken during surgery to minimize the risk of cross infection to health workers.

CONCLUSIONS

During the COVID-19 pandemic, surgeons should always be aware of the possibility of cross-transmission from the patient, since children are also susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. When and wherever possible, surgeons should perform the procedure in the quickest and most effective manner to shorten exposure time with patient and anesthetic aerosols as well as using appropriate PPE.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound May Reduce Misdiagnosis of Pediatric Intussusception

Aim: Intussusception, the most common abdominal emergency in early childhood, is frequently misdiagnosed at initial presentation. The effect of using point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) by emergency medicine physicians on pediatric intussusception misdiagnosis rate remains unclear. Here, we summarize outcomes and misdiagnoses before and after training junior and senior physicians on using POCUS for diagnosing intussusception and compared their performance levels. Materials and Methods: This observational cohort analysis included patients with suspected intussusception who visited a pediatric emergency department (ED) between January 2017 and December 2019. All enrolled patients were evaluated by junior (<10-year experience) or senior attending physicians. Misdiagnosis was defined as a finding of negative air reduction or confirmation of diagnosis on ED revisit or admission. The misdiagnosis rates and outcomes before and after POCUS training for intussusception diagnosis were evaluated and performance of the junior and senior physicians was compared. Results: Of the 167 enrolled patients, 130 were confirmed to have intussusception by air reduction. Misdiagnosis rate was significantly lower in the post-training patient group after training than in the pre-training patient group (43.7 vs. 12.7%, P < 0.001). After training, fewer misdiagnoses were made by the junior (59.1 vs. 25.9%, P = 0.003) and senior (31.7 vs. 0%, P < 0.001) physicians. In the post-training patient group, the door-to-reduction time and rate of ultrasonography consultation with an expert also decreased significantly (118.2 ± 124.5 vs. 198 ± 250.2 min, P = 0.006). Abdominal pain (80.9%) was the most common symptom of intussusception, followed by vomiting (58.3%), fever (17.8%), bloody stool (15.4%), and diarrhea (14.2%). Even after training, the presenting symptoms of intussusception often leading junior physicians to misdiagnosis were diarrhea and fever. Conclusions: A brief POCUS training leads to decreased misdiagnosis rates in both the senior and junior physicians. Junior physicians should increase their awareness regarding diarrhea and fever being the presenting symptoms of intussusception, particularly in early childhood. Combining clinical judgment and POCUS results forms the core principle of the evaluation of children with intussusception.