RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF CLINICAL PRESENTATION OF CHILDREN WITH DIAGNOSED INTUSSUSCEPTION

Objective: To know the presenting clinical features of intussusception in children up-to the age of twelve years.Material and Methods: The study was conducted at the Department of Paediatric Surgery, PostGraduate Medical Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, over a period of 18 months. A total of 71 patients with diagnosed intussusception were included. The relevant data, both pre-operative and postoperative, of children who were operated for intestinal obstruction and finally turned out to be suffering from intussusception, was fed into a pre-designed proforma and the information so obtained was analyzed according to objectives of the study.Results: The common presenting features were colicky abdominal pain in 70 (98.59%) cases, vomiting in 67 (94.36%) cases, abdominal distension in 67 (94.36%) cases, constipation in 63 (88.73%) cases, bleeding per rectum in 61 (85.91%) cases, palpable mass per abdomen in 56 (78.87%) cases and fever in 18 (25.35%) cases. In 11 (15.49%>) cases there was a mass palpable per digital rectal examination and 05 (07.04%) patients had diarrhoea on presentation.Conclusions: Colicky abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal distention, constipation, bleeding per rectum, palpable mass per abdomen are the commonest presenting clinical features of intussusception in children.