Intussusception and SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abstract

We present 2 cases in the same city, of coexistence of intussusception and SARS-CoV-2 infection. The first in an 8 month old male in August 2020 and the second in a 7 month old female in October 2020; both resolved by surgical technique. Although it is known that some intussusception cases. can present concomitantly with viral infections, the fact that they appear in the same context as COVID-19 has only been reported as of late; these 2 new cases are added to the 6 reported so far. In the future, it will be analyzed whether this coexistence is the result of an association between the 2 diseases.

Intussusception in an Infant With SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature

“…In particular, adenovirus, enterovirus, norovirus, rotavirus and human herpes virus 6 have been associated with intussusception in infants and young children (10). To the best of our knowledge, eight cases of intussusception being the presentation of COVID-19 in infants have been reported so far (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17). The main findings from these reports are summarized in Supplementary Table 1.…”

“…Fever was documented in 5 cases (11,12,14,15). A concurrent or a recent history of respiratory tract infection was described in only three cases (11)(12)(13). Six of the eight patients were diagnosed as ileocolic intussusception, one as ileocecal intussusception and in the last case the kind of invagination was not clarified.…”

“…All the described infants had a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection through a PCR molecular testing but only few authors reported the type of sample used for the test, in particular whether nasal or throat swabs (13,15,17). Furthermore, the majority of the cases (5) had no previous direct exposure to COVID-19 (12,13,15,16). Accordingly, the hereby reported 10-month old patient presented with an ileocolic intussusception, confirmed at abdomen ultrasound, with the classical presentation of abdominal pain, vomiting, lack of appetite and blood in stools.…”

“…Most reports describe an irritable baby with abdominal pain and jelly-like stools. Fever was documented in 5 cases ( 11 , 12 , 14 , 15 ). A concurrent or a recent history of respiratory tract infection was described in only three cases ( 11 – 13 ).…”

“…Six of the eight patients were diagnosed as ileocolic intussusception, one as ileocecal intussusception and in the last case the kind of invagination was not clarified. Surgical procedure was performed in four cases, two of which preceded by an unsuccessful pneumatic reduction ( 12 , 15 , 17 ). Only one case reported the patient's death due to the development of a multi-organ dysfunction syndrome ( 15 ), whereas the remaining cases were all discharged without sequelae ( 11 – 14 , 16 , 17 ).…”