Pediatric intussusception in Ibadan, South Western Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Intussusception is the most common cause of acquired intestinal obstruction in children presenting commonly as a surgical emergency between the fifth and ninth months of life. Method: A retrospective review of cases seen over eight years in our hospital was done to study the pattern of presentation and factors influencing management in our environment. Results: Thirty four patients were managed with age ranging from one week to six years. Thirty patients (88.2%) were infants. Majority were boys (58.8%) and the most common symptoms were vomiting (94.1%), passage of red currant jelly stool (91.2%), excessive crying (58.8%) and fever (52.9%). All the patients had exploratory laparotomy done with half of them undergoing simple reduction of the intussusception. There were three mortalities, two of which presented very late after two weeks of onset of illness with septicemia. There was no recurrence. Conclusion: Late presentation is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Early presentation, aggressive resuscitation and non- operative treatment will help in reducing the high mortality associated with late presentation.