Ultrasonography for the Diagnosis of Intussusception in Children: An Experience From Pakistan

Profile and outcome of pediatric intussusception: a 5-year experience in a tertiary care center

Background

Intussusception is the most frequent cause of bowel obstruction in infants and toddlers; idiopathic intussusception occurs predominantly under the age of 3 and is rare after the age of 6 years; the highest incidence occurs in infants between 4 and 9 months; the gold standard for treatment of intussusception is non-operative reduction. This research will tackle the problem of pediatric intussusception in our center which is the largest tertiary center in our region. The primary outcome is to study the profile of intussusception; the secondary outcome is to assess the success rate of pneumatic reduction in the center’s pediatric population as well as to study the seasonal variation if present.

Results

During the study period, eighty-six (N=86) cases were identified, from which 10 cases were recurrent intussusception. Seventy-six (N=76) cases were included from the study period. N=68 (89%) were less than 3 years of age, and only N=2 (3%) were above 6 years. Seasonal variation was not significant; N=69 (91%) patients had successful pneumatic reduction under fluoroscopy while thirteen patients N=13 (17%) needed operative intervention.

Conclusion

Ileocolic intussusception is one of the most common pediatric surgical emergencies that can be successfully managed non-operatively in our institute; 89% of the cases were below 3 years of age, and no seasonal variation was demonstrated. Operative intervention was required in 13 cases with the main reason being lead point. The fact that the pediatric surgeon performs the reduction might have contributed to a high success rate reaching 91% in our center. This study provides a valuable opportunity for future regional data comparisons and pooled data analyses.