What is intussusception?
It is a disease in which one part of the intestine is caught in another part of the intestine. The pain in the abdomen and sudden crying may occur, but after a few minutes, the person is calm again, and this phenomenon may occur repeatedly. Since it is life-threatening, it is important to go to the hospital urgently.
Cause
Obstruction of the intestine due to the intestine running into the intestine
The disease is called “intussusception” when a part of the intestine overlaps into two or even three layers. It can occur in any part of the intestine, but most often the small intestine (the end of the ileum) runs into the large intestine. The intestine that runs into the large intestine is tied up by the outer intestine, and food and blood cannot flow freely. There are many contributing factors that cause intussusception, such as enteritis, diarrhea, high fever, and changes in dietary regime. Adenovirus can cause viral inflammation of local lymphoid tissue in the mesentery, which can stimulate the autonomic nerves and lead to intestinal peristaltic disturbance and intussusception. If you have intestinal polyps or tumors, Michael’s diverticulum (ileal diverticulum) and other diseases, it is more likely to cause intussusception.
Symptoms.
Sudden abdominal pain and screaming and crying
An infant who was in good spirits may scream and cry, turn pale, and mostly vomit due to sudden abdominal pain.
The baby is unable to express itself verbally, so he or she cries loudly to show it. If you touch the belly with your hand, you will feel a hard lump. After a few minutes, the abdominal pain stops and the baby is calm again, but after 10-30 minutes, the pain returns and the baby cries again, and so on and so forth, and the body begins to exhaust itself.
The vomit is initially yellowish, but gradually it may appear yellowish-green due to repeated vomiting, and the stool may be mixed with blood. In addition to abdominal pain and crying, bloody stools are undoubtedly an important symptom of intussusception. Initially, the stool is mixed with blood, and later, when the symptoms persist, a jam-like stool appears, mostly 8 to 12 hours after the onset of the disease.
Age of prevalence
It is common in young children after 4 months of age, especially in obese children, and is 2 to 3 times more common in males than females. The incidence decreases after the age of one week, and after the age of 4 years, it almost does not occur.
Family treatment and treatment suggestions
Family care.
Pay attention to dietary hygiene, eat regularly and quantitatively, and do not over-eat cold and cold products. Pay attention to warmth and protect the abdomen from cold.
Intussusception can be life-threatening if treatment is delayed, so as soon as it appears, go to the hospital urgently even in the middle of the night. Parents should closely observe changes in the condition. Observe the general condition of the sick child such as paroxysmal crying and vomiting, especially the nature of the stools (jam-like stools). If there are cases of bloody stools, remove the stools from the diaper along with the diaper. Of all diseases, there are almost none where early diagnosis is so important and the mother’s responsibility so great as this.
Treatment recommendations
Within 24 hours of the onset of the disease, an air enema is administered and the doctor will begin the diagnosis with palpation and ultrasound and enema.
Within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, an air enema is usually administered through the anus to push the bowel back into place using pressure. After 1~2 days of hospitalization, the patient can be discharged after confirming the condition of intussusception and no recurrence. Three days after discharge, you can resume your normal life.
However, if the intussusception is so severe that an air enema cannot push the intestine back into place and there is a risk of intestinal rupture, surgery will be performed. If the onset of the disease lasts more than 24 hours, the overlapping part of the intestine may cause intestinal necrosis, so the need for surgery increases.
In the case of surgery, it is necessary to stay for about 1 to 2 weeks. In cases caused by intestinal polyps or tumors, Meckel’s diverticulum (diverticulum of the ileum), or lymph node hyperplasia, resection surgery will be performed to address the cause. In the case of intestinal entrapment, an open surgery is performed to push it back into place. However, if the overlapped area is blackened and necrotic, the necrotic part must be removed and then anastomosis is performed.
Special reminder: within 30 minutes of onset, the first witness must think of the possibility of intussusception. Most unfortunately, neither the mother nor the doctor who initially saw the patient noticed that it was intussusception, and the condition worsened with intestinal perforation, causing peritonitis before the baby was brought to surgery.