What is intussusception?
Intussusception is a serious intestinal condition in which a section of the bowel telescopes into the section next to it. (To visualize it, think of a collapsible travel cup.) This leads to inflammation and swelling that may eventually block or tear the intestine.
If left untreated, the condition can be life threatening, but when caught early it's almost always fixable.
In the United States, between 1 and 4 children in 1,000 develop intussusception each year. Most are between the ages of 6 months and 3 years, and 80 percent of them are under 2. (Intussusception is rare after age 5.) Boys are about four times more likely than girls to have the problem.
Researchers are pretty much in the dark about why it happens. Some experts suggest that a viral or bacterial infection is to blame. In babies younger than 3 months and in children age 5 and up, a benign growth inside the bowel wall may be the culprit.
What are the symptoms of intussusception?
If your child has intussusception, he'll seem fine one minute and be writhing in pain the next. That's because the pain comes in waves.
Watch for these possible symptoms:
- The waves of pain become more intense and frequent.
- Child cries hard and draws up his legs or bends over when the pain hits.
- Child may vomit.
- About half of children have bloody, mucousy stools that look like currant jelly.
- Child is sweaty and lethargic.
- After a few hours, child may show signs of dehydration, such as sunken eyes, a dry or sticky mouth, and a continually dry diaper.
- As the condition progresses, child's stomach may become hard and distended, and you may be able to feel a sausage-shaped mass in the upper middle or right abdomen.
The sooner the condition is diagnosed, the better. The longer you wait, the more difficult treatment becomes. So if you think your child is having intermittent, worsening pain, call the doctor to find out whether to take your child to the office or to the emergency room. If you can't reach the doctor right away, go ahead and take your child to the ER. Intussusception is an emergency that requires skilled medical care—it's not likely to go away on its own.
What's the treatment for intussusception?
If your child's doctor suspects intussusception, special X-ray studies or possibly ultrasound can confirm the diagnosis.
Once the diagnosis is made, the child usually sees a radiologist, who tries to push the intestine back into place using an enema. The procedure is safe and fairly quick, but the child has to be restrained, and it feels crampy and uncomfortable.
The condition sometimes recurs soon after either procedure, so kids have to stay in the hospital for a day or two. They can usually go home once they're eating and pooping normally.
Intussusception is frightening, but when it's caught early, recovery is almost 100 percent certain.