CHILDHOOD INTUSSUSCEPTION – MANAGEMENT DILEMMA

K. N. Rattan*, Harish Bhardwaj, Mahesh Kumar, Garima Bhardwaj and Shruti Bansal

ABSTRACT

Intussusception is one of the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in infancy. Modalities of treatment has always been a matter of debate. This shifting paradigm from immediate laprotomy to non operative management has prompted us to undertake this study. Ours is a retrospective analysis of all cases of intussusception diagnosed on ultrasonography in last 10 years (2006-2015). Total 198 children were enrolled in our study with male to female ratio being 1.5:1. There was spontaneous reduction of intussusception in 21% cases. Rest were subjected to barium enema reduction and surgical management. 4% patients showed pathological lead point presenting during late childhood. Due to high incidence(21%) of spontaneous reduction in early diagnosed intussusceptions in our series, its our observation that those cases who present early should be treated conservatively under close observation for 24 hours before child is subjected to invasive procedures like pneumatic or operative reduction.

Keywords: childhood, intussusception, intestinal obstruction, management.