Retrospective analysis of clinical presentation of children with diagnosed intussusception

ABSTRACT

To know the presenting clinical features of intussusception in children up-to the age of twelve years. The study was conducted at the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Post-Graduate Medical Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, over a period of 18 months. A total of 71 patients with diagnosed intussusception were included. The relevant data, both pre-operative and postoperative, of children who were operated for intestinal obstruction and finally turned out to be suffering from intussusception, was fed into a pre-designed proforma and the information so obtained was analyzed according to objectives of the study. The common presenting features were colicky abdominal pain in 70 [9859%] cases, vomiting in 67 [94.36%] cases, abdominal distension in 67 [94.36%] cases, constipation in 63 [88.73%] cases, bleeding per rectum in 61 [85.91%] cases, palpable mass per abdomen in 56 [78.87%] cases and fever in 18 [25.35%] cases. In 11 [15.49%] cases there was a mass palpable per digital rectal examination and 05 [07.04%] patients had diarrhoea on presentation. Colicky abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal distention, constipation, bleeding per rectum, palpable mass per abdomen are the commonest presenting clinical features of intussusception in children