Outcome of intussusception among children in Kano

Abstract

Intussusception is defined as the telescoping of a segment of the gastrointestinal tract within the lumen of the adjacent segment usually proximal to distal. It is a common cause of intestinal obstruction in children, rarely it can occur in adult. This condition is reported in both developed and developing countries, however there are few publications in Nigeria about the incidence, presentation and outcome of its management, most especially in children. This is a prospective study of pediatric patients managed in single center Kano over a period of 18months. The demographic data, clinical features, treatment and outcome of the management were evaluated and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Between June 2018 to December 2019, twenty-five children were managed with intussuception at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, there were 16 males and 9 females. The age of the patients ranges between 5 months to 6 years with most of patients in the ager range between 6 and 12 months. All of the 25 patients had exploratory laparotomy with manual reduction in 12 patients, while 13 patients had resection and anastomosis. Non-operative reduction using normal saline under ultrasound guidance was attempted for 2 patients, which was not successful. The length of hospital stay ranged between 4 days and 22 days. Few complications were observed which includes surgical site infection, wound dehiscence, postoperative ileus. One patient was re-operated for recurrent intussuception. Two patients died post operatively, while 23 patients were discharged home alive. Intussuception is still a common cause of intestinal obstruction in children in Kano. Late presentation was found to be associated with higher morbidity (complications).