Current Success in the Treatment of Intussusception at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health between 1999 and 2008
Keywords:
intussusception, pneumatic reduction, air enema reduction, pathologic lead pointAbstract
Back ground/Objective: Intussusception remains the most common cause of intestinal obstruction inchildren under 2 years of age. Results of the treatment of this disease have continuously improved with better
outcome in the world literature. The aim of this study was to review the management outcome in children with
intussusception at one tertiary hospital for pediatrics in Thailand.
Methods: Medical records of patients treated for intussusception from January 1,1999 to December
31,2008 (at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health) were reviewed. Information about clinical
manifestations, radiological findings and results of the treatment were obtained. The statistical differences
were analyzed by the Chi-square test with significance at a p-value less than 0.05.
Results: A total of 572 patients with 605 episodes of intussusception were available for the review . Male
to female ratio was 350:222(1.5:1). About 78 % of the patients was under one year of age with the peak incidence
at 6 months. The disease was found in every month of the year with the highest incidence in January. Vomiting
was the most common symptom, being found in 92.4% of the patients. Mucous bloody stool, abdominal pain
and palpable abdominal mass were noted in 73.2%, 71.6% and 68.1%, respectively. Radiological findings
revealed complete intestinal obstruction and soft tissue mass in 52.7% and 24.3% of the cases. Pneumatic or
air enema (AE) reduction was attempted in 496 episodes and found to be successful in 333 (67.1%) with a colonic
perforation in 3 cases (0.6%). Surgical intervention was needed in 274 episodes. Of these, manual reduction
was successful in 191 and intestinal resection was required in 64. Appendectomy only was done in the remaining
9 cases because complete reduction was noted during exploration. Pathologic lead points were recorded in 23
patients (4.0%). Intestinal polyps (13 cases) and Meckel’ s diverticulum (7 cases) were the most common causes.
Of the total 572 patients, only one died due to mesenteric vein thrombosis and extensive ileocolic necrosis
within one week after manual reduction and appendectomy. The overall mortality rate was 0.2%.
Conclusions: Management outcomes of intussusception have been continuously improved with the
mortality rate less than 0.5 %. AE reduction should be the initial management, unless the patients had
contraindications for such intervention. Adequate preoperative preparation and prompt definitive treatment,
both AE reduction or surgical intervention, have much influence on the successful management outcomes of
intussusception.
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