Adult Small Bowel Intussusception and Resolution Captured on Pelvic Ultrasound

Neil P Larson,Rachel E Bridwell,Michael J Yoo

doi:10.7759/cureus.5622

Neil P Larson, Rachel E Bridwell + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5622

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Abstract

While abdominal pain is one of the leading causes for ED visits, intestinal intussusception is an infrequent etiology in adults. We present the case of a 22-year-old woman with five days of left lower quadrant abdominal pain with initial workup investigating for a genitourinary source utilizing pelvic ultrasound which revealed small bowel-small bowel intussusception. During the study, resolution of the intussusception correlated temporally with the patient’s symptoms. Transient small bowel intussusception in adults has been previously described; however, direct visualization of both the intussusception and its resolution on pelvic ultrasound has not been previously published.

Highlights

Abdominal pain is one of the most common chief complaints seen in the ED, accounting for approximately 5% of all chief complaints [1]
Intussusception, or telescoping of one bowel segment into another, is an infrequent etiology of abdominal pain in adults, with only 5% of all intussusceptions diagnosed in the adult population [2]
Up to 20% of adult intussusceptions are idiopathic without identified lead points, with higher incidence occurring in the small bowel [2]

Summary

Introduction

Abdominal pain is one of the most common chief complaints seen in the ED, accounting for approximately 5% of all chief complaints [1]. On arrival to the ED, the patient’s vital signs were a blood pressure of 128/82 mmHg, heart rate of 96 beats per minute, respiratory rate of 16 breaths per minute, pulse oximetry of 100% on room air, and oral temperature of 98.50 Fahrenheit with reported pain level of seven on a scale of one to ten. Her physical exam was pertinent for mild tenderness to palpation of the abdomen in her left lower quadrant but without guarding, rigidity, or rebound tenderness. She did not return to the ED within the seven days

Discussion

Conclusions

Disclosures

Findings

Mehta RS

Catalano O: Transient small bowel intussusception