Assessment of Hydrostatic Enema Reduction under General Anesthesia in Treatment of Primary Intussusception in Children

Abstract

Background: Intussusception represents a common abdominal emergency, to which most of the cases of intestinal obstruction in early  childhood are attributed, coming second after pyloric stenosis.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of hydrostatic enema reduction in  idiopathic pediatric intussusception cases.

Patients and methods: This was a cross sectional research performed on 33 children  diagnosed with intussusception in the Pediatric Surgery Unit at Suez Canal University Hospital. All of them were subjected to hydrostatic  enema reduction.

Results: There were multiple predisposing factors that are believed to play a role in the pathophysiology of  intussusception in children. Intussusception was diagnosed through the utilization of conventional abdominal radiographs, sonography,  or contrast enema examinations of the colon, which might include air. Intussusception was successfully reduced in thirty-one patients  (94%), whereas operative intervention was required in two individuals (6%). Duration of symptoms was found to be significantly related  with success rate of reduction; the shorter the duration, the higher the rate of success. Bleeding per rectum was found to be unrelated to  the success rate of reduction.

Conclusion: Fluoroscopy-guided hydrostatic reduction is highly recommended in kids with intussusception.  This procedure is characterized by being non-invasive, easy, highly successful, and has the lowest rate of recurrence,  morbidity and mortality.