Diagnosis of Pediatric Intussusception using Point of Care Ultrasound in the Pediatric Emergency Department

Abstract

Over the past decade Point‐of‐Care Ultrasound (POC US) is increasingly performed in emergency medicine for a variety of indications. Pediatric emergency medicine physicians have been slower to understand the importance of POC US in the diagnosis of some specific pediatric conditions.The use of POC US and knowledge of the sonographic characteristics of intussusception can help any emergency physician in the prompt diagnosis of this condition, thereby reducing morbidity that may result from a delay in diagnosis. This report illustrates the use of POC US in a case of a 10 month old male that presented to the emergency department (ED) at midnight with fussiness as the only symptom. A diagnosis of intussusception was made using real‐time POC US by a pediatric emergency medicine attending.In some pediatric hospitals, like our, the radiologists and the ultrasound technicians are not readily available after hours and need to be called in. The goal is to diagnose and treat intussusception as early as possible since a delay in diagnosis may result in the need for surgical reduction or even intestinal resection. The diagnosis of intussusception is best performed by an experienced sonographer, such as the radiologist. However, if a delay for this study is anticipated POC US by a pediatric emergency physician trained in POC US can be crucial in reducing time to diagnosis and definitive treatment.