CLINICAL HISTORY.—This 11-month-old boy was admitted to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles with a history of being perfectly well until four days prior to admission. At that time, he had a temperature of 102 F (38.9 C) which responded to aspirin. The day of admission he had apparent abdominal pain which was intermittent and colicky in nature. He had one liquid stool and two episodes of emesis. The past history and family history were noncontributory.
The infant was well-developed, obese, and in no acute distress. No abnormal physical findings were noted. The urinalysis was within normal limits. The hemoglobin level was 12.9 gm/100 cc, white blood cell count was 12,950 with a normal differential. A barium enema was performed (Fig 1, 2, 3).
Denouement and Discussion
Intussusception is relatively common in infancy and early childhood, and is the most common cause of acquired intestinal obstruction in this age