Abstract
PurposeThe aim of this study was to determine whether climate factors correlate with variations in the rate of pediatric intussusception cases presenting to the Children’s Hospital in Suzhou, China.Material and MethodsThe hospital records of 5,994 pediatric cases of intussusception who had presented between Aug 2006 and Dec 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data and air enema reduction data were collected for each case.ResultsThe monthly rate of new intussusception cases fluctuated throughout the year generally rising from April to September with a peak from May to July. This annual cycling of intussusception incidence was highly significant over the 5 year observation period. Poisson regression analysis showed that the monthly number of intussusception cases was associated with an increase in mean temperature per month (P = 0.0001), sum of sunshine per month (P<0.0001), precipitation per month (P<0.0001), and was marginally associated with increased mean wind speed per month (P = 0.0709).ConclusionThe incidence of intussusception in Suzhou was seasonally variable with a peak in cases presenting during hotter, sunnier, and wetter months demonstrating a positive association with certain climatic factors.
Highlights
Intussusception is a common emergency in infants and children, and in particular in children below the age of 1 year [1,2,3,4]
The aim of this study was to determine whether climate factors such as temperature, sunshine, precipitation, and wind speed correlate with variations in the incidence of intussusception in Suzhou
Fisher’s Kappa test statistic of 13.81 was larger than the 5% critical value of 7.2; the null hypothesis that the monthly incidence of intussusception cases was not associated with the seasonal cycle was rejected, i.e., seasonal periodicity existed through 2006 to 2011
Summary
Intussusception is a common emergency in infants and children, and in particular in children below the age of 1 year [1,2,3,4]. The majority of intussusception cases in children are primary and their cause is still unclear. There have been some reports about seasonal patterns in the occurrence of intussusception [5,6], this topic remains controversial. There have been very few studies regarding the relationship between the occurrence of intussusception and climate factors. The aim of this study was to determine whether climate factors such as temperature, sunshine, precipitation, and wind speed correlate with variations in the incidence of intussusception in Suzhou
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