Hopefully you've checked out part 1, part 2, and part 3. Though ileocolic is the most common type - small bowel-small bowel occur as well. Generally they present with similar symptoms (intermittent colicky pain etc,.). They are also diagnosed similarly with ultrasound being the best study, but CTs can show them too. They are more likely to reduce spontaneously if: They are [...]

Hopefully you've checked out part 1 and part 2 - Let's now shift the focus to the treatment. Nonoperative reduction OK, so you made the diagnosis of ileocolic intussusception - so let's fix this problem. The current standard is nonoperative reduction using pneumatic pressure - the Air Contrast Enema. Some facilities use hydrostatic pressure with barium, normal saline or water soluble [...]

Welcome to part 2 of the intussusception series - check out part 1 here. Let's suppose that you work in a place without 24 hour ultrasound, and you get a toddler that is having intermittent episodes of belly pain. You think she has intussusception. You recall that there are some X-ray findings that can help make you feel better about [...]

Ah, intussusception, the Mississippi (at least in terms of spelling) of medicine. For my latest series I thought I'd look into this common diagnosis in the Peds ED. Is it really that common? Well, it is the #1 cause of intestinal obstruction in children 6 months to 36 months. So, its got that going for it, which is nice. 60% [...]