Intussusception in infants and older children: a comparison

SUMMARY

The clinical features and operative findings in 37 infants and 29 older children with intussusception seen over a 10-year period were compared and contrasted. While most of the children presented acutely, 28% of older children had chronic intussusception compared with 5% in infants. Only about a third of all children had the four classical features of abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal mass and bloody stool; the rest had two or three of the above features. Pain and palpable abdominal mass were more common features in older children while abdominal distension, constipation and diarrhoea were more prominent in infants.

Fifty-four per cent of intussusceptions in infants were entero-colic while in older children 69% were colonic. All the intussusceptions in infants were idiopathic while in 14% of older children there were predisposing causes. Resection for gangrene/perforation was required in 30% of infants compared with 7% of older children.