• Carol W Y Wong, Chan Ivy H Y IH Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong., Chung Patrick H Y PH Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong., Lawrence C L Lan, Wendy W M Lam, Wong Kenneth K Y KK Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong., and Tam Paul K H PK Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong..
• Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
• Hong Kong Med J. 2015 Dec 1; 21 (6): 518-23.

ObjectivesTo review all paediatric patients with intussusception over the last 17 years.DesignRetrospective case series.SettingA tertiary centre in Hong Kong.PatientsChildren who presented with intussusception from January 1997 to December 2014 were reviewed.Main Outcome MeasuresThe duration of symptoms, successful treatment modalities, complication rate, and length of hospital stay were studied.ResultsA total of 173 children (108 male, 65 female) presented to our hospital with intussusception during the study period. Their median age at presentation was 12.5 months (range, 2 months to 16 years) and the mean duration of symptoms was 2.3 (standard deviation, 1.8) days. Vomiting was the most common symptom (76.3%) followed by abdominal pain (46.2%), per rectal bleeding or red currant jelly stool (40.5%), and a palpable abdominal mass (39.3%). Overall, 160 patients proceeded to pneumatic or hydrostatic reduction, among whom 127 (79.4%) were successful. Three (1.9%) patients had bowel perforation during the procedure. Early recurrence of intussusception occurred in four (3.1%) patients with non-operative reduction. No recurrence was reported in the operative group. The presence of a palpable abdominal mass was a risk factor for operative treatment (relative risk=2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-2.2). Analysis of our results suggested that duration of symptoms did not affect the success rate of non-operative reduction.ConclusionsNon-operative reduction has a high success rate and low complication rate, but the presence of a palpable abdominal mass is a risk factor for failure. Operative intervention should not be delayed in those patients who encounter difficult or doubtful non-operative reduction.

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